Accepting Destiny
by dreemseeker
Summary: Stephanie realizes she has a choice to make.   Established relationships. Babe HEA.
1. Chapter 1

Standard FF disclaimers.

March 30, 2012

Established Relationship

Chapter 1

Heat radiated in waves off of the pavement. It was hot in Trenton, but that was to be expected at the height summer. It was the humidity, however, that was bringing everyone down. That heavy presence that seemed to drain the world of its color, of its energy, of its life.

This weather did not bode well for the Bombshell Bounty Hunter. With the horribly saturated climate, the skips seemed to be hiding out. As if they were being held down by the oppressive atmosphere, not caring to move from their shelters. That created a dry spell for Stephanie. She had a stack of files, FTAs that she could not find. It was depressing.

She hated going out every day in her POS car without air conditioning. Looking for and just hoping that one of these skips would peek out long enough for her to grab them and bring them in. She seriously doubted her ability to keep this search going. Only her desperation kept her out now. She would be hiding out somewhere too if she didn't have rent to pay, and if she didn't have an annoying need to eat.

What she wouldn't give to be tucked away in the RangeMan building with its quiet, cool air. And fully stocked break room. But she was back 'on' again with Morelli and he was making those same old demands on her. He wanted her to keep away from Ranger. That meant no working at RangeMan. She allowed herself a heavy sigh at the thought that RangeMan was the one place she really wanted to be, for so many reasons.

When the weather gets this steamy, Stephanie thought, people seem to go a little bit stir crazy. Being outside makes them hot and sticky, and irritable. But being holed up inside leaves them feeling anxious. The oppressive heat seems to keep the madness at bay, if only because people stay inside, away from each other. But the minute the humidity lets up, and the temperature drops a little, the mood change goes completely off the charts.

Stephanie had seen this happen before. She could only guess that hiding is just against their nature, and the minute they can, these people come out, and they are crazier than ever before. Especially the people she was usually looking for. The cops notice the same thing, Joe and Eddie commented about it regularly. Never underestimate the effects of the weather!

Even with the heat, Stephanie had caught sight of a few of her FTAs during the week, but they always seemed to be a step ahead of her and disappeared as quickly as they had appeared. By Thursday afternoon, Stephanie had officially become frustrated. "How many times do I have to put with the insanity that is my job," she thought.

Finally, today she had been lucky enough to catch up with the Skip that was #1 on her list. Georgie Preston was young. He was thin and about as tall as Stephanie. This was his first time in the system, and Stephanie had been hoping that he would be just scared, or inexperienced enough to buy her story of getting rebonded quickly. If she had ever entertained the idea that bringing him in was going to be easy, he had instantly dispelled that idea.

No, Georgie decided to lead her on a wild goose chase. He made her chase after him down alley ways, over fences, and across rooftops, all over the Burg. "Dang, he is fast," Stephanie thought, and he seemed to be running on an endless supply of energy. All Stephanie had going for her, was her determination. She was sweating and wheezing as she saw Georgie turn a corner and run between two row houses. He didn't see the clothes line stretched across the narrow expanse of yard. He ran directly into it. It hit him right in the throat, throwing him back. He stumbled and landed on his back, knocking the air out of his lungs. Stephanie caught up with him just as he went down. He grabbed her. He was grasping at anything to keep himself from falling. Instead he took them both down, causing her to smack her forehead on the ground. Georgie was coughing, and Stephanie could feel a big headache coming on, as she cuffed him and dragged him back to her car.

As relieved as she was to finally have a check in her hand for the capture, she knew it wasn't enough. She would have to keep going out. Keep looking. She sifted through the file folders, picking out another first time offender. "Time to go after skip #2," she said to herself. The paperwork she pulled out was for one Stanley Worneki. The file showed that this guy lived down the street from her parents.

"Just great," she mumbled. That's all she needed, to create a spectacle of herself, right in front of her mother. Stephanie really didn't want to have to deal with any of that. She decided to find Stanley at his place of work. She had Connie call and confirm that he was at work today. Connie told her he was there, now.

So, Waterfront Park was her next stop. Worneki was working with maintenance at the stadium. He seemed like a regular guy. This was his first offense. He had never been in trouble before in his life. How he became involved in the knock'em'down, drag'em'out fight after a game, she just didn't know. Who knows what goes through anyone's mind, at any given time. Probably just another case of the unbearable weather affecting a persons sanity, concluded Stephanie as she pulled into the nearly empty parking lot.

She looked at his picture in the file, one last time. Then Stephanie walked over to the offices located on the ground level behind the stadium entrance. She pushed open the double glass doors. An older woman sat at a circular receptionist desk. She was dressed in a large, well worn 'Trenton Thunder' jersey, and she kindly greeted Stephanie when she walked through the door.

Stephanie had to suppress a laugh. The lady looked like a character. She was short and looked like a fire ball with her frizzy, over permed, cherry red dyed hair. Stephanie couldn't help but think that her Grandma Mazur would probably get along fabulously with this lady. It even looked like they had the same hairdresser.

"I'm looking for Stanley Worneki," Stephanie told the woman. "Could you tell me where I can find him?" The woman had a grin on her face that seemed to get bigger and bigger. She looked as if she was about to say something, but she got distracted. She took a breath to speak, but didn't get a chance.

Just then, both women heard a noise in the office behind them. Stephanie turned toward the sound, when a man unexpectedly raced through the door and headed straight for her. It was Stanley Worneki. He tackled her and started yelling at her to leave him alone. He was acting as if she were a stalker who had been following him relentlessly for days or maybe even weeks. His eyes had a wild, desperate look in them. The things he was shouting didn't make any sense to her. But suddenly Stephanie had no problem picturing this man as someone who could get involved in a fight. He truly seemed to be a man on the edge.

"Get away from me," he yelled. "Stop bugging me, I don't want anything to do with you or your crazy schemes!" The rant continued, his arms were like windmills, his hands pummeling her on her head and upper body. Stephanie had both of her arms up, trying to protect herself from him. Worneki kept yelling, he hadn't even stopped to take a breath. "I never want to get another call from you ever." "Ever!" he repeated, his voice getting louder. "You will never get me to join your pyramid, ponzi game." His eyes were nearly bugging out now. "You have to leave me alone."

Stephanie had absolutely no idea what he was talking about. But she was too busy warding off his attack to think much of it. Obviously, he had her confused for someone else. So she tried to let him know who she was and why she was here. Although she didn't think he would want to see her, any more than he wanted to see the person that he thought she was.

"Mr Worneki," she tried to say, as she deflected another flying hand. "Stanley!" she tried again. She forcefully rolled him off of her and tried to move back enough to grab her cuffs and get into a position where she could slap them on his wrists.

But he glared at her and grabbed her bag, dumping it out all over the floor. Worneki grabbed her car keys and stood up. He turned to run out of the office, but he stopped suddenly and turned around. Stanley pulled Stephanie up by her shoulders and pushed her toward the door. She tripped and slammed into the glass door before he pushed it open and pushed her through it.

He found her car easily, as it was one of only two cars parked outside the offices. He pushed her into the passenger seat. She started to object, and asked him what he thought was doing. He smacked her hard across her face, banging her head against the door frame, knocking her out temporarily. When Stephanie came to, she saw Worneki at the wheel, driving like a maniac. His eyes were focused ahead of him. He didn't even seem to be aware that she was sitting next to him.

Worneki accelerated, he was speeding down the street, still staring directly in front of him. The road took a sharp turn to the left, but Worneki did not turn, he bumped the car over the curb and continued traveling in a straight line. He was driving on the grass, crossing the walking paths and flower beds that ran parallel to the river. He plowed into park benches and into garbage cars. Causing them to bounce off of the top of the car and scatter the contents everywhere. He didn't seem to notice any of the destruction that he was creating.

Stephanie thought that it looked like he was heading for the Delaware river. Only seconds after her realization, that he might actually intend to drive the car into the river, _that_ was exactly what he did. There was some incredible air time, as the car crashed through the metal barriers and shot out over the water. But the car then took a nose dive into the river.

Water rapidly started filling the car. As her windows were always open, there was nothing to stop the river from closing in on them. Stephanie was shocked at how cold the water felt. Somehow she thought that the hot temperatures outside would have heated the water in the river too. But the shock of the icy water knocked her breath from her and jolted her wide awake. She looked around. Worneki looked like he was passed out over the steering wheel. He didn't look very good, there was blood pouring down his face from a gash on his head. Looking closer, Stephanie noticed that he was limp in a way that suggested that he was more than just unconscious.

She knew that they needed to get out of the car. Fast! It was slowly being pulled down with the ever increasing weight of the water. As she tried to move, Stephanie realized that she had been injured too. One arm must be broken, because she could not move it, without experiencing extreme pain. She was worrying about how she could get herself and Worneki out of the car with only one arm, when she saw the blood. It was swirling in the water all around her now. Something had sliced a deep cut in her side, and she was bleeding profusely. Between the cold water and the loss of blood, she could feel herself going into shock. "No, Stephanie," she told herself, "hang on!" It would be really bad to be unconscious in the water.

"Think…Steph…Think"… "What would Ranger do"...

As soon as she let the thoughts of Ranger into her mind, she felt much better. Calmly, she tried to find a pulse on Worneki's wrist. She couldn't feel anything. So she tried to find it on his neck. Still nothing. She had that terrible feeling again that he was already dead. She couldn't help him now, but she could try to help herself out of this mess. The water had filled the car and she was holding her breath. She arranged her broken arm to wrap across her chest. With her other arm, she began to pull herself out of the open window. She was half of the way out when the car shifted, it turned on its side. She was now under the car as it continued to fall deeper toward the river bottom.

Panic was slowly building. Stephanie was still struggling to work herself free from the car. Her lungs were burning. And she could feel a headache start pounding from the water pressure and the cold. If she could have felt them, she would know that tears were streaming from her eyes too. She had only minutes left to get out of the car before she joined Worneki on his journey to the after life. Her body felt so heavy, so slow. Her frustration mounted and she could feel the panic take hold in her chest. It was no use. It was too late to get out now.

Ranger was the only thing in her mind now. Her final thoughts would be of him. How she would miss him. How she should have told him how much she loved him. How she should have fought to be with him. The ache in heart matched the pain in her head. She knew she would be unconscious soon. Now Stephanie was aware of the tears. This was all so unexpected, so unfair, so final. All she wanted was to feel Rangers arms around her. One last time.

TBC


	2. Chapter 2

Standard Disclaimer

March 2012

Established Relationships

Chapter 2

Mona Schiller was stunned. Nothing like this had ever happened before. She worked at the Waterfront Stadium as the receptionist for the Trenton Thunder. Things were usually pretty low key around the office. Her job was to man the office, year round, even during the slow off season. Mona found it to be a great situation, it was nice and quiet. So quiet, in fact, that she frequently had quite a bit of time on her hands.

Not a woman to waste away her life, Mona came to work prepared with things to read. She brought in a huge canvas bag filled with her favorite mystery romance novels. And she looked forward to reading the newspaper that was delivered to the office door, each morning. Mona would read the paper first, all laid out across her big circular desk. She liked to keep up with the news of the greater Trenton area.

Her quiet day was interrupted when Stephanie Plum walked into the office. When Mona looked up, she recognized her right away. You could have knocked her over with a feather. She was looking at the Bombshell Bounty Hunter! Seriously, this was one of the most exciting moments she had ever experienced. "Things like this just never happen to me," she thought. It was a lot better than the last commotion that they had had several weeks ago, when a fight broke out after one of the Thunder's games. So much better!

Mona had read all about Stephanie. Stories about her were in the paper so often that she was practically a celebrity around Trenton. Mona had a hard time resisting the urge to ask her for an autograph.

"Hi, can I help you?" Mona said with a friendly smile.

Stephanie was looking for Stanley Worneki. Mona immediately knew what this was about. Stanley had been arrested for being involved in the fight. She was excited to think that she was going to be able to see Stephanie the bounty hunter in action. Suddenly, both women heard noises coming from the office behind them. The door burst open and Stanley rushed out. He headed straight toward Stephanie, and then he tackled the poor girl. Mona was shocked. She stared at him. "Stanley has gone and lost his freaking mind," she was thinking.

Since the day he had been hired, Stanley had been quiet, efficient, and very personable. Mona considered herself to be a good judge of character and she liked Stanley. He was a good guy. He _was_ a good guy. Up until a few weeks ago, when he started getting all of those annoying phone calls. Next thing she knew, he was getting involved in fights. And now this. It didn't surprise her at all that he had forgotten to keep his court date. Stanley was obviously losing it.

Mona was not about to take any chances. Stanley was acting crazy. She picked up the phone and called security. By then Stanley had grabbed Stephanie and shoved her into her car. They drove off before security could get there. So Mona picked up the phone, once again, and called the police. She did not like what she had just seen. Not one bit.

Hank parked his Black Ford F-150 just out of view of the office doors. He was on 'Babe' duty, and he was good at it. Stephanie never saw him when he followed her, even with him being in one of the most recognizable RangeMan trucks. Right now he was parked in the shade of the only tree in the parking lot that was close enough to offer any cover. Hank was just getting into his zone, when he saw Stephanie's car race out of the parking lot.

"What the hell," he thought. Hank knew trouble when he saw it, and this had trouble with a capital 'T' written all over it. There was no thought of trying not be seen now. Hank quickly followed Stephanie. They were speeding down the road and Hank knew there was something very wrong. He pulled out his phone and called RangeMan. He reported where they were and what was happening. He watched as the car in front of him jumped the curb and headed straight toward the river.

"Shit," he said under his breath as he watched the car slam through the guardrail. "Call the cops and an ambulance," he said to the man on the other end of the line. "Steph's car just took a nose dive into the Delaware river."

The truck screeched to a halt, as Hank shoved it into 'park' before jumping out and running to the river. He threw off his boots and dropped his guns, and jumped into the water. There was no way in hell he would let Stephanie get hurt on his watch!

The minute the call went out, Joe Morelli was contacted over and over. Everyone was letting him know that Stephanie had gotten herself in trouble. Again. He shook his head. "How many times have I asked Stephanie to quit that stupid job," he asked himself. She would always be running into crazy people as long as she insisted on being a Bounty Hunter. Why couldn't she see that it nearly kills him each time she gets hurt. He pointed his truck in the direction of the Waterfront Stadium and rushed to see what was happening around her this time.

Stephanie's luck was holding out again. Hank was watching her today. If you are going to fall into a river, Hank is the one to have around. He had been with the Navy Seals on the water rescue teams, and he was one of the best. His skills included an expanded lung capacity that allowed him to hold his breath for incredibly long periods of time.

Hank jumped into the river feet first and plunged deep into the water, following the path of Stephanie's car. The car was totally submerged now, and the murky water was hard to see through. Hank got a glimpse of Stephanie through the dark water. She was trying to get out of the car window. Suddenly the car turned and started falling on top of her.

He knew time was running out. Hank pulled himself down to reach her. Stephanie was still partially stuck in the car. Quickly but gently he untangled her legs, and pulled her through the window. He swiftly brought her up to the surface. Stephanie had lost consciousness by now, and he needed to make sure that she could start breathing again. Fast.

Just as soon as they broke through the water he started checking Stephanie. She had started breathing on her own. She had a good pulse. But she was still unconscious, and that worried him.

When he reached the river bank, paramedics and the rescue team were waiting for him. They quickly secured Stephanie to a stretcher and pulled her up to safety. She was taken directly to the ambulance. Hank followed. He kept close, he wanted to see that she was going to be alright.

Morelli arrived at the scene and made his way to the edge of the river. He decided to check out the progress of securing the car so that it could be lifted out of the water. He knew that Worneki was presumed dead and his body still needed to be removed from the car. The cops at the scene told him that plowing through the guard rail had completely smashed the front end of the car. Add water damage and they were considering the car a total loss.

Ranger arrived only moments after Morelli. He went straight to the ambulance. Hank met him there and gave a brief report on her condition. Ranger nodded and turned his attention to Stephanie. He climbed into the ambulance and sat close to her. The EMT

told him that they didn't know how long she had been without oxygen. They explained that her unconsciousness could be an indication of brain damage, but there was no way to be certain.

Ranger took Stephanie's hand in his. "Babe," he said softly. He rested his head on their clasped hands. She squeezed his hand. So slightly that he almost missed it. He looked at her, and squeezed back with a gentle pressure.

Slowly Stephanie opened her eyes. "Ranger" she said, her voice rough and weak.

"Are you alright?" he asked, staring into her eyes. She gave him a small smile, and nodded carefully. Her head was still pounding. She was shivering so Ranger gathered her up in his arms and held her against him, sharing his warmth with her. The EMT handed him another blanket and Ranger carefully wrapped it around her. His mouth was near her ear and he was making soothing sounds. He was speaking in Spanish to her. Stephanie loved the sound of his deep, rich voice. She didn't understand the words, but she definitely liked the way they sounded. And she relaxed into his embrace.

"What happened to Stanley?' she whispered. Ranger told her that he had been killed in the accident. He also told her that the car was totaled.

"At least you didn't blow up another car," he teased. She looked at him. Very seriously.

"I think I like it better when they explode." She replied.

"Babe," he smiled. "You never disappoint." Ranger laughed and pulled her back into his arms.

That is where Joe found them. He looked into the ambulance and watched them. Usually this would be the moment that Ranger would walk away. But this time he couldn't make himself let her go. He held her until the EMTs told them they needed to go. Ranger kissed Stephanie and climbed down. He went directly to his car. He called Bobby, and headed to the hospital as quickly as he could.

To say that Joe was annoyed would be an understatement. He hated seeing Ranger any where near Stephanie. She was his. And Ranger needed to leave her alone. Joe climbed up to sit next to her. And no matter how concerned he was about her, the only vibe that Stephanie got from him now was irritation. She took that to mean that he was mad at her. Mad at what had happened today. Mad about her job. And yes, she admitted, he was probably mad about Ranger being here too.

Joe sat by her, but he didn't speak. In a few moments the EMTs were ready to leave. He gave her a quick kiss and stepped down from the ambulance. As it drove off, Joe called Stephanie's family. They would want to know where she was being taken _this_ time.

Ranger had Bobby meet him at the hospital. He knew that Stephanie would want to have him there so that he could interpret what the doctors would tell her. He knew that she didn't trust anyone at the hospital unless Bobby told her it was okay. They found her in the emergency room. It seemed that she was not cooperating with the nurse. Ranger walked toward her, Bobby right behind him. Once she saw Bobby, Stephanie allowed the nurse to examine her. Bobby gave her a nod, and a small smile. "She really does hate hospitals," he thought. The cut in her side looked a lot worse than it was. Now that the bleeding had stopped, they could see that it wasn't as deep as they had feared. Fortunately it only needed a few stitches. Her arm was broken, but it was a clean break and would be simple to set.

While she was down the hall getting the cast on, Bobby and Ranger went to talk with the Rangemen who were there waiting to hear how Stephanie was doing. Especially Hank, he needed to know that she was going to be okay. Ranger walked up to him and clasped his hand.

"Thank you Hank," he said. Hank just nodded. He wasn't prepared to let anyone know how scared he had been. But the truth was, he was more than relieved that she was okay, it would have killed him to know that he didn't save her.

"Why don't you go in and see her when they get her settled into her room," Ranger said. Hank gave him a look of gratitude, and nodded.

Stephanie was helped to her room. Once she was settled in, she took a good look at her cast. It was below her elbow, so she would have a decent amount of mobility while it healed. Of course it would still make it difficult to do her job. She thought about it for a while. She knew that she had two choices. Give up her apartment and move in with Morelli, or take the job at RangeMan that Ranger always offered to her.

She knew what she wanted to do. She also knew how that decision would be received by Joe. Just then, as if on cue, Joe walked in, interrupting her thoughts.

"How are you feeling Cupcake?" he asked with a smile. Stephanie was relieved to see that he had let go of his anger. Joe moved over to the bed and sat next to her. He hugged her tight. She had some things to say to him. Not the least of which was that she would need to be working at RangeMan now. She would have talked to him, but his pager went off. He kissed the top of her head as he moved out into the hall to make the phone call. Moments later he opened the door.

"Gotta go Steph," he said. "I'll check in with you later." He waved and was gone.

Hank left Bobby and Ranger talking to Stephanie's doctor. He walked down the hall toward her room. He was surprised how nervous he was to see her. Stopping outside her door, he took a deep breath. Then he tapped on the door, opening it slowly as he heard her voice tell him to come in.

"Hey, Steph," he said as he walked in.

Stephanie's face lit up. "Hank, I'm so glad you came to see me!" she said. She motioned for him to move closer to her. Hank walked up to her bed and she grabbed his hand, pulling him into a hug. "I don't know how to thank you," she said into his neck." He felt her tears and he pulled back to see her face. Her eyes glistened with more tears. But she looked him in his eyes. "Thank you," she said again. She could still remember the relief that she felt when she saw him through the dark water. The sun shining on him from above, as he came around the side of the car. She knew she would be okay, it was her last thought before she passed out. "You saved my life Hank." She hugged him tight again.

"I'm just glad I was there," he told her. He could tell that she was fighting to keep her emotions under control, so he held her and ran his hand in soothing circles on her back.

Finally she pulled back a little and smiled at him.

"At first I thought you were an angel," she said, smiling when she saw the look on his face. "Then I knew that you were _my _angel"

She kissed his cheek, "you will always be my angel Hank," she told him. He couldn't hide his big grin. He took her hand in his and he sat in the chair next to her bed.

They talked for a while. Hank was telling her about how bad her car looked when they pulled it out of the river. "If I had seen the car first, I would have thought for sure that no one could have survived," he said. "Maybe I wasn't the only guardian angel there today," he said with a smile.

By the time Ranger and Bobby came back, Stephanie was feeling ready to get out of there. She was all patched up now, and wanted to leave. She started to say she was ready to go when the doctor walked in. He explained that they would like to keep her for another 24 to 48 hours for observation. Stephanie waited for Bobby to argue that it wasn't necessary, but instead he agreed with the doctor.

"Sorry Steph, but the doctor is right, you could still get an infection from being in the river. And the trauma of being trapped under water can't be dismissed. You need to let your body heal properly." Bobby tried to reassure her that he would be stopping by frequently to check in on her. He kissed her on her forehead, and stepped out again with the doctor. Hank left too with a quick kiss on her cheek, turning to smile at her one more time as he went through the door.

Stephanie knew that Ranger would have to leave soon too. She didn't want him to go, and it wasn't because she didn't want to be left alone. She wanted him there because she was beginning to understand that he was the _only_ one that she wanted to be with.


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimers applies

March 28, 2012

Chapter 3

The darkness was deep and suffocating. Tiny pinpricks of light started to appear on the outer edges of her vision. It wasn't enough to show her where she was. She had been floating, weightless. But suddenly the sensation of falling was overwhelming. She fell faster and faster. She still couldn't see anything. She didn't know what she was falling toward, or where she was falling from. Her heart was pumping wildly, fear took her breath. Somehow she realized that she was about to hit the bottom, and her whole body jerked, waking her up.

Stephanie was again abruptly awakened from her dream. She had had this, or similar dreams all night long. She was exhausted. But she wasn't sure she was ready to fall asleep again. So she sat up in the bed, trying to catch her breath.

She stared through the stillness of the hospital room. All around her small lights, on the various machines measuring and recording her vital signs, glowed red and yellow and green and blue. Some were blinking, others glowing steadily. She resigned herself to stay awake, she didn't want anymore dreams. Finally her breathing came back to normal.

"You want to tell me about them?" a voice in the room asked. Nearly giving her a heart attack.

"Bobby?" she inquired. When the sound of blood rushing through her head had subsided, she thought she recognized his voice.

"I told you I would be watching over you," he said as he walked over to the chair next to the bed. "Do you want to talk about it now?" Bobby asked.

They looked at each other in the dark room. He waited for her, he knew that she wouldn't be rushed into this. But he also knew that the fear of being trapped under water would not be an easy thing for her to dismiss.

"How long have you been here?" Stephanie asked him.

"Long enough to know that you are not getting any rest tonight," Bobby replied. "Steph, I'm here for you, let me help you through this."

Even with just the tiny lights as illumination, Bobby could see the tears in Stephanie's eyes. The fear she felt was real. He knew all too well how it could eat you up inside if you didn't deal with it. That was why it had actually been his suggestion, to the doctor, that she spend a little bit more time in the hospital. He wanted to see how she was coping. And now he knew.

Bobby sat on the bed and wrapped his arms around Stephanie. She leaned into him, seeking the comfort he was offering her. He could feel her trembling.

"Shhhhh," he whispered into her ear. "I'm here, it will all be okay." He continued talking softly, with soothing words, until he felt her relax.

In his mind he remembered the night he had been trapped under water. He was 17 years old. U.P. Crossing was an old bridge spanning the river that skirted the city. It was a natural hang out for his friends. It was close enough to walk to, but far enough away that no one followed them there. The bridge had been a train crossing, but it was no longer in use. They would take turns climbing the trestle framework and jumping off into the water. On restless summer nights it was just the thing to blow off steam.

The fact that there were no lights in the area, was one of the best features of the hideout. It added to the feeling of seclusion. But it turned out to be the one thing that almost killed him. It was Bobby's turn again to climb up and take a jump off of the bridge. He had done it hundreds of times. They all loved the thrill of falling through the dark into the inky depths below them. It hadn't seemed careless or dangerous to them at the time. It felt like the most natural thing in the world to experience a first class adrenaline high.

This time, however, there was a huge branch floating down the river. Of course no one could see it in the dark. Bobby jumped, hitting the water right in front of the unseen branch. But when he came up for air, he became tangled in the branches. By then his friend was jumping, and he landed on top of the branch, causing Bobby to be pushed even deeper in the water.

It almost knocked him out, he could feel the tingle in his mind telling him that he was about to pass out. He fought it, he focused on the fact that he needed oxygen, and he struggled to detangle himself from the sharp branches. None of his friends could help him, they didn't even know that he was in trouble.

He remembered the burning in his lungs, the panic in his chest when he couldn't break free, and the thick, deep, black of the world he was trapped in. He recalled the months of nightmares, the ones he never told anyone about. He thought that it would show weakness to express the fear that he felt.

It wasn't until an observant medic at his first base confronted him, that Bobby ever faced the fear. He went through some intense counseling. That experience may actually be why he is such a great medic himself. It was the inspiration for him to pursue that field. His personal experiences and his compassion had helped out a lot of soldiers. He hoped that he could now help Stephanie.

They were still hours away from morning. This was the right time to face the fear, to talk it out. So he held her until she finally felt calm enough to listen to him, and finally to talk to him. They stayed that way until the first light of the morning started glowing outside the window. Stephanie was comforted having Bobby's arms protectively holding her as they talked.

Stephanie cried as she related the dreams, and told Bobby how she felt when she couldn't help Stanley. She told him how scared she was when the car pushed her deeper into the water. The pain of her injuries, that kept her from being able to free herself. The panic she felt when she couldn't get free. And then she told him about seeing Hank. How he looked like an angel to her.

"Perfect," he thought. Bobby smiled as he looked at her. She had just given him the image that would help her overcome her fear. He sighed, a contented sigh, and hugged her a little bit closer. She was going to be just fine. He had talked with her for hours through the night. And felt good about her progress. It would be a test tonight to see where her mind was when she fell asleep again.

After the incredible breakthrough, Stephanie was surprised when Bobby insisted that she stay in the hospital for another night. Stephanie did try to protest, but it was half hearted, and mostly because she thought that he expected it. She trusted Bobby, and she would do as he asked.

She was truly exhausted now, and Bobby left her to get some sleep. She slept most of the morning, only interrupted when the nurses came in to check on her or bring her food. Ranger came and sat with her, he held her hand, but he did not wake her. He had received Bobby's report and he knew she needed to rest.

He was there because he needed to see that she was doing okay. He needed to be okay. This latest episode had really shaken him. He knew that she was always involved in crazy situations. Somehow, though, this time it was different. If affected _him_ differently.

It had been a couple of weeks since he had seen her, and he missed their teasing. When he knew that he had almost lost her, something snapped in his heart. He felt a pain that had never been there before. He was here to reassure himself that she wasn't gone. His nightmares had left him sleepless last night too. Worst part about it was, this was all his fault.

She was avoiding him because of Joe.

Joe.

The one he kept pushing her back to.

The one who was supposed to help her see that she could live a normal, safe life.

The realization that he was coming to, however, was that Joe could not make that happen. That Stephanie would always have these crazy predicaments in her life, because of who she was, of what she was. She was not normal, not by a long shot, and that is what he loved about her.

"Damn" he thought as he realized, yet again, that he could not live without her. Nearly losing her brought it back into focus. A war was waging in his heart. Opposing sides were battling it out. One side insisted that if he loved her he would do whatever he could to keep her safe. Isn't that why she is still being watched by his men? The other side said, if you love her you should be with her. But he still insisted that being with her could bring her more danger. His head hurt from going round in circles, neither side gaining any ground.

Without waking her, he kissed her gently on the cheek and walked out of the room.

Stephanie woke up groggy and in pain. A nurse came in shortly after she had awakened and adjusted her pain medication. The nurse was friendly and outgoing, a motherly figure who told her that she was proud of the way she was healing so well.

Stephanie smiled and nodded in response, it wasn't as if she were personally doing anything to aid in the healing process. But she was a nice lady, they chatted until she left.

She was alone now and the rest of the afternoon loomed ahead of her.

With time to think.

Lots of time to think.

She knew how dangerous that could be.

Especially when her thoughts started out to be about Ranger. She had just been dreaming of him. It must have been part of her dream, but she felt him near. It was_ that_ feeling that she had been missing for the last few weeks. And it left her empty inside. There was something about just being around him that filled her heart. And something about not being around him that made her heart ache.

Stephanie closed her eyes.

She didn't know what good it would do thinking about him. But anything else that came to her mind led her right back to him.

She couldn't help but think about the last thing that came into her mind when she thought she was going to die. It was Ranger. She had thought about Ranger. Not Joe. Funny, that although she was 'on' with Joe right now, it didn't feel like they were emotionally connected at all. They just felt like friends.

Ranger on the other hand, was always 'on' when he was around her. Stephanie couldn't forget how he always made her feel. Even if it was just a smile, he made her heart race. She missed seeing him. It wasn't fair of Joe to ask her to stay away from her best friend. Even if she understood why he had.

Her head was spinning, too many thoughts were vying for her attention. Pictures of both Joe and Ranger played through her mind. She loved them both. Who could say if she loved one _more_ than the other. She loved them differently. The images kept bombarding her mind. She knew that she had to make a decision. Soon. Going back to work with RangeMan was going to force the issue with Joe. She had tried to tell him yesterday, but he had to leave too fast. Even when they had time, she wasn't looking forward to having this conversation with him.

Stephanie realized that anyone looking in at her situation might envy the position she appeared to be in. Who wouldn't want to be able to choose between two great men. But that was not how she saw it. This was never going to be an obvious choice. Not until she knew how_ they_ truly felt about her.

Especially Ranger. She knew what he said to her, about his ability to have relationships. But then she had to wonder what he called what they had, friendship didn't seem to adequately describe it. And she asked herself if Ranger were to accept being with her, would she even be considering Joe?

Stephanie had been so deep into her thoughts, she didn't hear the door open. She didn't notice that Joe was standing there watching her. She was staring off into space, unaware of anything at all. After several more moments, Joe finally cleared his throat to get her attention. He almost laughed out loud when she jerked her head around to look at him.

"Where were you just now Cupcake," he asked. He had an amused smile on his face.

Stephanie smiled back at him. "Sorry about that," she said. "I've just had a lot of time on my hands today, I must have been lost in my thoughts."

Joe walked over to her and sat in the chair by her bed. Stephanie looked at him. He was truly drop dead gorgeous. He turned his dark eyes to her and she melted a little bit inside. She wished she understood why she was so conflicted about her feelings.

"So how are you holding up," he asked with a smile. He knew that she hated hospitals, and judging by the blank look he saw on her face when he walked in, he could see she was ready to break out soon.

"I just have one more night, I get to go home tomorrow," she replied. She looked at him and held up her cast. "I'm going to have a little trouble working with this," she said hesitantly, keeping her eyes on him. Stephanie knew this may not be an easy discussion to have.

Joe raised an eyebrow in response. If he knew what was coming next, he didn't let on. He nodded at her to continue speaking. She swallowed before she spoke.

"I think that it would be a good time for me to take Ranger up on his offer to have me work at RangeMan," she hurried on, "Chasing skips is not in my best interest at the moment. Working in an office would be the safest place I could find."

She paused and looked at him. Joe was quiet, he looked down, not meeting her eyes for a few minutes. When he spoke it was slow, deliberate.

"You know how I feel about that," he started to say. He heard her take a sharp breath. "Maybe it is the best decision you can make right now. But don't think that I like it, because I don't."

"Joe," Stephanie started to say.

"No Steph, you just have to understand. I don't like you around Ranger or any of the other men there. It isn't going to change, but I won't tell you can't, it is your decision."

Stephanie nodded, she knew that the discussion was over. They would just have to agree to disagree on this. She didn't want to hurt Joe, but she couldn't help but feel elated inside. She could hardly wait to talk to Ranger.

Joe immediately changed the subject. He told Stephanie about the results they had so far in the investigation on Stanley Worneki. He told her that Worneki had moved to Trenton after a bad divorce. His ex-wife had been harassing him every single day for over a year now. He was at the breaking point anyway, when he met a girl at local café. According to his friends, he thought that they had made a good connection. But it turned out that she was already involved with someone else, and was just trying to build her Amway downline. She was new to the whole thing, and was a little overzealous in her recruiting techniques.

Stanley felt betrayed, and used. The girl apologized to him and told him that she had referred his name to her upline, and now they would be the ones to call him. And to add insult to injury, Miss Amway's jealous boyfriend confronted Stanley at the ball park, and Stanley snapped. He attacked the guy, and it turned into a big brawl as everyone around tried to either help out, stop the fight, or join in. In Stanley's fragile state of mind, he went a bit crazy.

It had been the phone call by Connie that had set him off yesterday. She had just called to help Stephanie by confirming that he was at work. His loose grip on reality was shattered and he reacted by deciding to drive into the river. He had been killed instantly when he hit his head on the steering wheel, on impact.

Stephanie listened to this in silence. She felt bad for Stanley. But she would have had no way of knowing his state of mind when she went looking for him. She barely said a few words to the man.

"Um, Steph," Joe started to say. "I don't know exactly how to say this," he took a breath, blowing it out slowly. He held her hand in both of his. "The EMT's and the investigators are all saying that it is miracle that you survived." He looked into her eyes. She had a look that he couldn't interpret. "I'm glad you are so lucky," he said softly. "It would have killed me if anything had happened to you," he said as he pulled her into his arms.

She stared out of the window, allowing her mind to follow the train of thought where ever it took her. Joe had left a little while ago. Another emergency at work. Stephanie thought about what he said. And she remembered what Hank had told her when she called him her angel.

Bobby had called yesterday a near death experience for her. At that time it hadn't had a chance to sink in that she had really been that close to dying. What Joe told her left her a bit shaken. The thought sobered her. She was grateful to be safe. She was thankful for Hank, her very own angel.

And she thought about Ranger. Her "last thoughts" had been of him. And now she couldn't get him off of her mind.

Suddenly she realized that the sun was going down and the light was fading. She would have a hard time sleeping tonight. But she knew it wouldn't be because of bad dreams.

She would be thinking of Ranger.


	4. Chapter 4

Standard FF disclaimer

April 2012

Chapter 4

Two hundred forty four, two hundred forty five, two hundred forty six, two hundred forty seven, two hundred forty eight, two hundred forty nine….

"Stephanie," Helen called.

"Stephanie," Grandma Mazur called.

"Stephanie," Frank called.

Everyone was looking for her. It was not as if there was very far that she could go. She was injured and still in pain. She needed to do laundry before she had anything but PJ's to wear. And she no longer had a car to drive. So Stephanie found it laughable that her family felt the need to form a search party for her. In her own apartment.

The truth was, she didn't want to be with them anymore. Six hours was more than enough. She hadn't spent this big a block of time with them all in years. It was more than she could handle today. So she did the only thing she could think to do, under the circumstances. Hiding in the bathroom, she was counting the ugly orange tiles just to pass some time until they left. Two hundred fifty, two hundred fifty one…

She didn't want to feel ungrateful, but it took two days for them to finally get to the hospital to see her. Bobby had been helping her check out when they all walked into her room.

Immediately Helen started to take over. They packed up her things and wheeled her out to the Buick. Once they got her settled at her apartment, they promptly forgot about her. The fridge was filled with her mothers food. The whole place was dusted and mopped and vacuumed and shined up. Rex was set up with a cleaned aquarium, fresh water and food. An overflowing basket of laundry had been placed by the door, for her mother to take with her when they left.

Again, she didn't want to seem unappreciative, but the whole process was accompanied by constant bickering between her father and Grandmother.

Her mother's shrill voice calling out orders to everyone.

And general chaos.

So Stephanie had sought refuge in the bathroom.

"Stephanie!" she heard her mother scream.

Slowly she opened the door. There they all were. Standing in a semi-circle, around the bathroom door. Even Valerie was there with her girls now. Tentatively, Stephanie stepped through the doorway.

"Be careful with Aunt Stephy," Valerie was saying to Mary Alice, as she charged forward to give her a hug. Angie stood back with Valerie with a look on her face that said '_I know better than to attack a person with a cast on her arm.'_

Seeing this exchange, Stephanie grabbed Mary Alice with her good arm and swung her around in a full circle.

"I'm so glad you came to see me M.A.," she said into Mary Alice's ear. Stephanie put her down and made sure that M.A. could see the smile on her face when she said, "I can always handle a hug from you."

Putting a plastic smile on her face for the rest of the family, Stephanie made her way to the couch.

"Thanks guys," she forced herself to say. "It looks great in here." And then she added for her mothers benefit, "I'm sorry to cause you so much trouble." Stephanie caught the smug look on Helen's face.

It was definitely time for them to go. "Gosh, I am getting so tired," Stephanie said as she pushed herself deeper into the couch cushions. "You know how sleepy those pain pills can make you," she said with an exaggerated yawn.

Surprisingly it was her dad who caught the hint, and started herding the gang out of the door. He turned and came back to the couch to give Stephanie a hug.

"You sure you are okay here alone Pumpkin?" he asked. She nodded at him and he kissed her on the top of her head before walking to the door. "Be sure to lock up when we are gone," he reminded her with a warm smile.

At last they were gone, Stephanie could hear the big Buick as it pulled out of the parking lot. She climbed out onto the fire escape, and watched them drive away. The humidity was at a tolerable level this evening, and Stephanie drew in a deep breath.

Part of her restlessness stemmed from the thoughts that had been going through her mind for the past two days. Stephanie felt more that a little bit unsettled about the relationships with Joe and Ranger. The events of the past couple of days had brought so many questions to her mind.

If that wasn't enough, she could feel that everyone was waiting for her to make a decision about her life.

They had barely stepped into the apartment earlier, when her mother made the first comment.

"When will you and Joe be making an announcement?" she so subtly asked. The question itself could have been innocent enough. But it was the expectant looks on all of their faces that let Stephanie know that some of _their_ future was waiting on her.

"Yeah, no pressure," she whispered to herself. She wanted to make a decision. She really did. But she knew that it would have to be the right decision, or she could mess up things for everyone.

Again she had thoughts pounding her brain. Stephanie closed her eyes, she was going crazy trying to make sense of all of these thoughts that she couldn't stop. Sometimes it left her feeling completely hopeless. Too many people looked to her, expecting her to fix her problems so that they could all get on with their own lives.

Her mother needed her to be married and settled down. That way she would know that she would be taken care of and would have a purpose in her life. It was the way she saw her own life, so it seemed like the right solution for Valerie and .Stephanie too.

Her father just wanted to know that she was happy and content with the direction that her life was taking. He wouldn't interfere with her choices, he just wanted to know that she was actually making decisions that moved her forward.

Grandma Mazur wanted her to know what it was like to be loved. Truly loved. Her grandma loved her and wanted her to know what it would be like to love the one person who could help her fly higher than she believed possible. She knew who _she_ would choose, like a big man dressed in black. But it was Stephanie's choice.

Even Valerie knew that her daughters looked up to their Aunt. Seeing her happy and in a great relationship would affect them too. Even if she didn't think about it, Stephanie was a role model for Val's girls. And whether or not Val wanted to admit it, the man that Stephanie chose would become the man that her girls would look to as a male role model.

Of course she loved Albert. But he was more of a teddy bear, or an overgrown hamster. His manhood had been proven by giving her Lisa. It's just that Val wanted her girls to see the masculine side of a man too.

Mary Lou would support Stephanie in any decision that she made. She was her best friend and she believed in her. She just seemed to think that Stephanie was not going to be able to thrive or grow if she stayed living in this lonely limbo much longer.

Her head was swimming. So full of confusion. All she could do to relieve the stress was to cry. And she hated to cry. Well, mostly she hated for people to see her cry. So since she was alone now, she let it all out. There were no body wracking sobs, just tears that streamed down her cheeks. She watched the sky go dark through the glistening tears. Still she remained on the fire escape. She almost seemed incapable of moving. Finally she folded her legs up and wrapped her arms around them. She rested her head on her knees and let the tears eventually run dry.

Stephanie never knew that she had an audience. In the shadows of the night, a black truck had pulled up near the building, just out of her view. Ranger walked closer, still out of sight. He watched her pain and felt it stab his heart. Why did she look so broken, so alone. He wanted, so much, to hold her, to push her anguish away. But he couldn't. It wasn't his call this time. She had made the decision not to see him. She had actually asked him not to come around her anymore. This had been her choice.

Ranger shook his head at this train of thought. "Who am I kidding," he asked himself. Of course this was not just her decision. He knew that if he asked, she would be by his side. He knew her heart almost better than she did.

No, again he had to admit to himself that the blame lay firmly on his shoulders. He just wished it didn't hurt so much. He made himself watch her and feel the pain, torturing himself until he saw Stephanie get up and crawl back through her window. Then he made his way back to Haywood and meted out his punishment in the gym.

When the Stay Puft Marshmallow man exploded, Stephanie stood up and walked into the kitchen. She felt so restless. Joe's visit tonight didn't help either. The movie had already started. So he just came in, heated some leftovers, and sat next to her on the couch while she watched her movie. He fell asleep with his head on her shoulder.

Maybe it was supposed to seem comfortable, and natural to be there together without having to say anything. But tonight, for Stephanie, it just felt empty. Probably she was not being fair to him. He was one of the people in her life waiting on her to decide what she would do.

She drank a glass of water. And then another one, as if she couldn't quench a hidden thirst. She shared some water with Rex and watched him run in his wheel. Mesmerized by the spinning wheel, she suddenly remembered that she hadn't called Ranger yet.

Stephanie smacked her palm against her forehead. Duh! She had been so looking forward to going back to work at RangeMan. She couldn't believe that she had let herself become so distracted that she forgot to ask Ranger about it.

Looking at the clock on the stove, she knew it was too late to call him tonight. It wouldn't be right to call him at home. But she wanted to make contact, so that first thing in the morning she would know if she could count on working for him.

She decided to leave a message for Ranger by calling the monitoring desk. She knew that someone was always there. After dialing the number, Stephanie suddenly became nervous. Her throat felt dry, so she grabbed another glass of water. She was mid gulp when the call was answered, and she swallowed fast.

"Hello, Steph is that you?" said the voice. Of course they had caller ID and knew where the call was coming in from.

"Bobby?"

"Steph, are you okay?" he asked. "Are you having trouble sleeping?"

She assured him that she was just fine. Since their talk together, sleeping had not been a problem. He had taken the edge away and taught her to redirect her thoughts to her angel whenever she felt the fear arise.

"I just needed to leave a message for Ranger," she told him.

"For Ranger?" Bobby repeated. She did not know that Ranger was standing right next to him. The echo had been for his benefit.

"Yeah," Stephanie said. "I wanted to ask him if there was a position available for me to work with RangeMan while my arm heals." She let the words rush out, as if she were afraid that the offer to work there would be retracted if she didn't ask quickly enough.

By this time, Bobby had put her on speaker and Ranger had heard her quick speech. He nodded to Bobby.

"Hey, that would be great," Bobby told her, "I'm sure that Ranger can use your help. We always seem to need a lot of help around here."

Bobby seemed to be rambling for some reason and Ranger gave him the signal to shut up by making a 'cutting of the throat gesture' with his hand.

"Ookaay," Stephanie responded. "Um, Bobby , could you just ask Ranger to call me when he gets a chance in the morning, Please," She said.

"Sure thing, Steph," Bobby answered. Then he added, "Get some rest tonight, Okay?"

"Don't worry about me Bobby, I'll be okay. Talk to you later." She said goodnight and hung up.

"What the Hell was that all about?" Ranger asked. He started teasing Bobby about his nervousness, with Stephanie, of all people.

"I was trying to keep her on the line for you Boss," Bobby replied. "Cause by the look on your face, I knew you needed to hear her voice. Bad."

Ranger didn't respond to that statement, he just turned and walked away. "Yeah, I thought so." Bobby said under his breath.


	5. Chapter 5

Standard FF disclaimers

April 2012

Chapter 5

Ste[jamue [;y,

"Oh that's just great," Stephanie thought. It hadn't occurred to her that she would have such difficulty typing with a cast on her hand. After all her arm had mobility. But just logging into the computer proved to be humorous. The alternative was just as bad. She had been forced to type with two fingers, one finger from each hand. The stupid cast kept getting in the way. For two days now her frustration had been building.

She literally threw her hands up in the air and stomped out of her cubicle and headed to the break room. Maybe, just maybe, she could grab something to eat without messing anything up too badly.

She was getting disgusted with herself. She didn't like to feel useless. And she was afraid that Ranger would rethink his generous offer to let her work for him. Just then, as if he had read her mind, Ranger walked into the room.

He looked at her. He didn't say a word. He knew that look. Stephanie needed a break from the routine, from the frustration. So he asked her;

"Steph, would you be up for some surveillance work tonight?" he looked at her over a bottle of water that he was drinking. Waiting for her answer.

She was silent for a long moment. As if she were weighing the pros and cons of such a suggestion. Actually that is exactly what she was doing. Pro= I'd be out of the office, Pro=no typing, Pro=hanging out with the guys, Con=Joe would have a fit.

"Sure, who do you want me to go out with?" she said finally.

'It's my turn, and I need a partner," Ranger responded.

She started going over the list again, Con=Ranger won't want me to bring snacks, but PRO=I would be with Ranger. She smiled.

"What time do we leave?" she said.

"Can you get home to rest for a while,?" he asked. "I'll come by and pick you up about 9:30."

She had arrived at the office in her father's taxi this morning. She didn't want to borrow the Buick, it seemed like too much car to maneuver with the cast. Why had she ever thought that the cast on her arm wasn't so bad, just because she could bend her arm. It seemed to get into her way with every movement she made.

So, Hank gave her a ride home. As far as he was concerned, it had been a happy coincidence that he walked by the break room just as Stephanie and Ranger were discussing her need to have a ride home. She refused to drive a RangeMan car, so she was glad that Hank was there to offer his help.

As per RangeMan protocol, Hank checked out Stephanie's apartment before allowing her in. When she got the go ahead, she entered. Hank nodded and turned to leave. Stephanie grabbed his hand. He turned around, surprised. She put her arms around as much of him as she could. "Thanks," she said into his chest.

Hank gave her a little squeeze and stepped back out of their hug. "Any time, you know that," he responded and kissed her on the cheek before he left. If you had ever told him that one day someone would call him an angel, he would have thought you were insane. But now as Hank walked out of Stephanie's apartment with a smile on his face, he thought that he would always be proud to be her angel.

Stephanie kicked off her shoes and flopped down on the couch, she grabbed the pillow and tucked it under her head. She really was a little bit tired, and it felt good to lie down and relax. She drifted off and had just gotten to that good, deep sleep.

She was jolted awake by the phone ringing. She had to run to grab the phone before it went to messages, and she stubbed her toe on the way. When she looked at the caller ID, at the same moment she answered the call, she wished she hadn't made that effort.

"Hi Cupcake," Joe said when he heard the click indicating that the call had been picked up. "Uhh, Steph?" he said when she didn't say anything.

"Oh, sorry Joe, I just slammed my foot into the chair leg, and almost dropped the phone. What's up?" She ran all of the words together. And Joe knew something was definitely up, she was acting nervous.

"You tell me," he said. And was faced with another silent pause.

"Oh, nothing really, just going out to work surveillance tonight," she said. Now it was her turn to wait out the silence. And she could picture Joe staring at his shoes again before he answered her.

He knew this was coming. He did not kid himself about what it meant when Stephanie worked at RangeMan. But it didn't mean that he had to like it.

"What time will you be going?" he asked, not really wanting to know. And he certainly did not want to know the answer to the next question, but he asked it any way. "Who will you be teamed up with?"

Stephanie did not want to answer that, anymore than Joe had wanted to ask it. But she did anyway. "I think it will be Ranger tonight," she said, trying to sound completely casual and bored about the whole thing. She couldn't let Joe know that she was excited to have an excuse to spend time alone with Ranger.

Since they were both having a conversation that neither wanted to have, they ended it as quickly as possible.

"Well then," said Joe at last. "Um, have a good night, talk to you tomorrow."

"Yeah, you too. Just don't call me too early, I might be out really late tonight." Her hand flew up to cover her mouth. And she thought, I didn't really just say that, did I?

'Click' Joe hung up on his end.

Yeah, she told herself, you really did just say that. "Damn"

After spending an hour trying to get her hair under control, Stephanie was ready and watching for Ranger. He pulled up in an old Blazer. While it was not necessarily beat up and ugly, it was definately not from the usual RangeMan fleet, either.

Interpreting her look, he explained. "We don't want to draw any attention in the neighborhood we are going to tonight,"

Stephanie swallowed and hesitantly asked, "and where would that be?" She wasn't sure why it sounded like it was going to be bad.

Ranger shook his head to dispel the thoughts she was having. "No, it's not a bad area, it's just a warehouse district."

Without realizing it, she had been holding her breath, so she now let it out, slowly, relieved. As if it hadn't mattered at all where they were going, Stephanie turned to Ranger and said, "well then, let's roll."

He just looked at her, his lips just curling at the corners. Then he turned to pull out into traffic.

Surveillance wasn't on the top of anyone's list of fun things to do. And an hour into it, Stephanie was suffering from TB and she was squirming and moving around.

"Babe," Ranger looked at her. She smiled at him, embarrassed that he had caught her acting impatient.

"What!" she said back to him. Then she started giggling. She couldn't help it, she tried to stop, but it made her laugh more. She looked up at Ranger, he was smiling at her.

"Just like old times," he started saying. Stephanie looked up at him. And he continued, "Eliza Dolittle and Professor Higgins, the sequel" and he gave her his 200 Watt smile.

That look always melted her inside, left her breathless. She tried to act as if she were deep in thought. But she was just trying to breathe again. When she was finally able to say something she asked him a question.

"Have you ever watched the movie?" Ranger raised an eyebrow and smiled.

"Babe." He gave her a look that said, 'I am an educated man, and I know the iconic reference from the movie, but I'm not in the habit of watching old chick flicks, thank you very much.'

Stephanie gave him her best impression of a raised eyebrow.

"You've never seen 'My Fair Lady." It was not a question, but more of an accusation.

"I have, many times."

Her statement was intended to let him know that he should know the kinds of expectations that he, himself, had implied by using the Higgins reference. But she was unable to expound on that thought.

Suddenly there was a movement around the side of the building that they were watching. Stephanie pointed and directed Rangers attention to the man slinking between the barrels that had been stored along the building. He nodded, pulling out his phone. Within 5 minutes their backup arrived and Ranger got out of the truck.

"You need to stay here, okay?" he said to Stephanie. She could tell that he might be expecting her to argue, but she just held up her cast, smiled and nodded.

"Yeah, you win this round," she said. And she watched the men go and make the takedown. It was a productive night.

When he took Stephanie home, Ranger went up to check out the apartment for her. She waited in the hall until he came back and indicated that it was all clear. He followed her back into the living room.

"I guess I'll get going now," he said. Stephanie turned to him. They were standing close. If she just took one step, they would be up next to each other. Touching…

Her heart started beating so wildly, she was sure she could see it pounding. Before she could take that step, Ranger reached out and touched her face. He ran the back of his finger along her temple, and down around her jawline.

"Thanks for being my partner tonight," he said and kissed her lightly on the lips. "See you in the morning." Then he turned and walked through the door.

By the time she could breathe and think again, she found herself still standing motionless in the living room. This time it was her head that told her heart that they had really missed his touch. A lot.

She must have gone through the motions of getting ready for bed, because she found herself sitting on the edge of her bed. She was out the second her head hit the pillow.

Stephanie was sitting in the living room, at her grandmothers house. Grandma Mazur was sitting next to her, and she had a big bowl of popcorn. Stephanie looked around, she remembered this day. She was 11 years old and she was in trouble at school again. Her mother was angry at her for making her come down to the school and be embarrassed in front of the principal.

Stephanie had stuffed Joyce Barnhardt's sandwich with dirt when she wasn't looking. Never mind that it was Joyce that started this whole thing today by telling everyone that Stephanie was picking her nose and wiping it all over the desks. Of course, everyone knew that Joyce was a big fat liar, but it didn't change the fact that Stephanie had been mortified.

Her mother never even asked her if any of it was true. She didn't ask her how she felt when Joyce lied about her. Her mother just believed that she had been guilty. And she was mad at her.

Stephanie could still remember how relieved she was when Grandma Mazur had come and taken her back to her house, to let her hide out, away from Helen. It was Grandma's cure all to watch My Fair Lady with hot, buttery popcorn. Stephanie felt safe and loved as she leaned against her grandmother, watching the movie.

Men and women dressed in elegant black and white suits and gowns were strolling around the grassy areas surrounding the race track. Eliza Dolittle was being introduced to the upper crust of the London society. Stephanie saw herself, she was Eliza, and she was walking with her hand perched on the arm of Professor Henry Higgins. Scenes kept playing, one moment she was speaking properly, being the lady that the Professor had taught her to be. The next she was forgetting herself and screaming "Moove yer bloomin arse!" at the horse in the race.

The next scene showed him rejecting her, rejecting her love. He was dismissing her feelings as a natural reaction of a pupil to her teacher, her mentor. It was not love. She couldn't love him.

And he couldn't fall in love with her. He was a confirmed bachelor. Set in his ways. He couldn't be in love, it would completely disrupt the life that he had established for himself.

But Stephanie was Eliza and she knew that she did love him. He had changed her whole life. She couldn't go back , she had changed too much. She was no longer the flower girl on the streets. As far as she was concerned there was no place for her back in that world. That world no longer existed for her anymore.

She was crying as she realized that there was only him, and his world. The world he had brought her into. It had become her world. She liked it here. She was good at what he taught her to do, to be. She wanted this life. She wanted it with him.

The last scene showed Eliza coming back into his house. She was coming back into his world. Adapting to be what she needed to be, to stay there. She was silently being what he needed her to be.

She didn't need to change him. Eliza was not asking him to change. She would never want him to change. She just needed to know that he accepted her role in his life and that he wanted her there.

The tears she felt in her dream continued when she woke herself up. The dream disturbed Stephanie. It was straight out of the movie. But it felt so familiar. Before she was able to fall asleep again, she made a decision. She would talk to Grandma Mazur in the morning.

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxox

All of Stephanie's senses were suddenly aware of a change in the very close vicinity. There seemed to a hush over the comm room. An unusually still quiet. And then she felt the tingle at the back of her neck, she knew what that meant. But what happened next made sense at all, she swore she could smell chocolate. Ranger and chocolate never went together. So she stood up to look outside her cubicle and he was standing there. Her eyes met his, asking the question in her mind.

"Ella sent me," he stated simply. He held out the plate with a huge slice of chocolate cake. Stephanie took it from him and sat at her desk. Ranger came up behind her, he cut a bite with the fork, she looked up at him and he fed her the first bite of cake. Handing her the fork and placing a carton of milk next the plate, Ranger sat down next to her.

"You've been acting strange today, that's the report I've been getting," he said. "Ella said you needed this," "bad." Stephanie looked up at him curiously. "Was she right?"

She started nodding her head slowly. It hadn't occurred to her that she had been, but Ella didn't miss anything around here. Stephanie was restless, she had something to give to Ranger and she didn't know how to do it. So every time she thought about it, she had walked down to the break room, or to the rest room. Apparently with such frequency that it had been noticed.

"Where is Ella now?" she asked. Ranger motioned with his head.

"In the break room," he told her. "I think she is waiting for you."

Stephanie nodded at him again. Then she picked up her cake and went to talk with Ella.

Just as she got to the door, Ella met her and directed her up to the apartment on the 6th floor. She got her settled at the kitchen table and sat down herself.

"Do you need to talk?" Stephanie nodded. "Please," Ella encouraged her to get started.

By the time she was done, they both knew just what needed to be done. Ranger had left the building, so Ella helped Stephanie take the things up to his apartment. She opened the door for Stephanie.

It felt strange to be walking into his place again. It had been a while. But she went over to the table by the couch. She removed the VCR from the box, and set it on the table. She then placed the video tape on top of the VCR with a note that said simply "Watch me"

Grandma Mazur had had no problem at all locating her videotape copy of 'My Fair Lady' and she had sent along the VCR, because she knew that not many people still had one around. She was right there was a DVD player but no VCR in Rangers entertainment center. She stood there for a moment, "the next move is yours" she thought, as she slowly turned to leave.

Stephanie walked out, and nodded at Ella. "Thank you," she said. "For everything!"


	6. Chapter 6

Standard FF disclaimer

April 2012

Chapter 6

Poking their long beaks in the sand the flock of birds scavenged for insects and tiny crustaceans. The sand pipers were busy about their work of finding food. At first they were not aware of her as she scuffed her feet along the shoreline. In fact, she was nearly in the middle of their feeding ground by the time the alarm went out and they scattered, running away on long spindly legs. Some tried to fly, but they were awkward and wobbly. For 15 seconds the high pitched "twee wee wee" cries of so many birds assaulted her ears. And then she was left with the just roar of the ocean, seeming so quiet in comparison.

Stephanie had always loved watching the birds when she visited the ocean. There were so many different kinds and they all had their own distinct sounds. As a little girl, she would come here with her family. They would have a picnic lunch and Grandma Mazur always brought extra bread scraps for Stephanie and Valerie to feed the birds. But Valerie didn't like the loud sounds that the birds made when they fought over the bread, so it was left up to Stephanie and her grandma to take care of the birds.

It was a clear day, and Stephanie found herself wishing that her mind could be as clear and calm. She hadn't seen Ranger for a few days. He was always busy and she felt like it might be in preparation for something that she didn't even want to think about.

So she didn't know if he had watched the movie or not. It was a piece of a puzzle that she really wanted him to put together. It seemed so important to her.

She had enough pieces of her own puzzle, and her pieces didn't even seem to be from the same puzzle, let alone being able to fit together.

Thoughts swirling around her head threw out reminders of what she had to face this weekend. On Sunday she had promised to go have dinner at her parents house and she knew that meant taking Joe. He would be back from his assignment by then, and she had told him that there was something big that she needed to talk to him about.

It was going to be hectic all weekend. Joe was getting back just in time for the Mayors Annual Reception on Saturday Night. Joe was not only invited, but required to go. It was a formal dinner and a dance. She knew that this is not the kind thing he would usually want to attend, cause he didn't really want to get all dressed up in a tux. He had asked Stephanie to accompany him weeks ago. And Stephanie had prepared for it by going out and buying an evening gown for the occasion.

Of course she did not have a cast on her arm back then. She was less than excited to wear the new dress with a cast. Especially now that it had been extensively decorated by many of her talented and artistic Merry Men, and it sported everything from dragons to roses to skulls to a set of angel wings.

She stared at the design that Ranger had added. He placed it so that she could look at it all the time. She would describe as a tribal tattoo. It was a bold design in black ink. The pattern seemed to depict dragon heads and thorns, but if you paid attention to the negative space there appeared to be a heart. It was subtle and beautiful. And she remembered his holding her arm cradled in his, hugged close to his chest as he penned it in. She looked at it now. Tracing her finger along the lines. She missed being close to him. In any way, and in every way.

Stephanie sank to the sand, she ignored the cute little birds that scurried all around her trying to keep away from her. As she sat down a dozen or so of the birds flew up into the air and then plunged down to the water snatching tiny fish in their beaks and flying off again. The ones who stayed on the sand cried "kip kee arr" to their friends and scattered.

All of the noises of the beach life faded into the background. Her thoughts took her back to the moments when she knew that the decision had been made. Ironic, this decision that she was agonizing about was already made. She knew it in her heart. And she had finally listened to it.

All she had to do now is to see into the minds of the men she loved. She corrected that last statement immediately, she meant into the mind of the man she loved. It was going to kill her if he couldn't or wouldn't understand that she needed to be with him in his world.

Where was her crystal ball when she needed it? And what about her magic wand? It would simplify things immensely if she could find those two items. "Yeah, I know exactly where they are," Stephanie thought, "they are buried at the base of the money tree." Hah! Things will never be as easy as you wish them to be.

Complications came from a lifetime of expectations and misconceptions. No wonder it was not easy to sort it all out.

She was at the ocean today as a way of trying to gather her thoughts and a whole lot of courage. It was a last ditch effort to steel herself up so that she could have this talk with Joe. She stood up and brushed the sand from her clothes. Willing herself to be ready for the words she needed to say to him

Her trip to Point Pleasant only served to clarify what she already knew. That she wanted to read Rangers mind. That was ultimately where her answer would come from. What she could do now was to clean up some loose ends. To get ready for the final showdown.

And that was what she intended to do. This weekend.

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxox

It was rumored that Ella knew everything about everything. Especially about what was going on at RangeMan. Stephanie was more willing than ever to believe it. The longer Ranger stayed away from her, the more restless she became. Since that piece of chocolate cake last week, Ella had spent time with her. Talking over more chocolate cake. And pineapple upside down cake. And her own specialty tres leches cake. But as much as Stephanie appreciated and relied on the support. She knew that this was her problem. The inner turmoil churned violently and could make her physically sick at times. And it kept coming back to it being up to her to make the decision. She knew how many people were waiting for her to make it. She just hoped that everyone would accept it.

When Ella peeked her head into her cubicle, late in the afternoon, Stephanie didn't think anything of it, she had visited with her a lot during the past few days. It was the look on her face that alarmed Stephanie. She could tell that Ella was trying to hide her concern, as she smiled at her. But Ella, bless her heart, was transparent, no matter how hard she tried.

Stephanie did not press for more information, she simply thanked her for delivering the message, and she headed up to the seventh floor. The door was open when she got there, but she didn't see Ranger. Tentatively she entered the apartment and made her way over to the couch. She couldn't help but notice that the VCR was connected to the TV and the cover for the movie was on the table.

Minute by minute her anxiety rose. Something did not feel right. A feeling deep in the pit of her stomach wouldn't be ignored. Stephanie suddenly felt like crying. She shook her head sharply, trying to drive these thoughts from her mind.

Her jumbled thoughts were interrupted when Ranger came through the door. She looked at him walk toward her. He was wearing a smile, but she knew what this look on his face meant.

"How are you feeling Babe," he asked with the forced smile. He took her hand in his as he sat next to her on the couch. Stephanie could feel it. And though he was asking her questions and acting as if there was nothing wrong, she could sense what he was going to say next. So she beat him to it.

"When do you go?" she quietly asked. She looked into his eyes. She saw an extra bit of sadness in them this time. And it worried her. Especially when he tried again to smile at her. "How long?" she asked, when she finally found her voice again. She was trying to keep the tears back. She never wanted him to see them, but it was proving to be next to impossible this time. He was staring at her, looking deep into her eyes. At one point he almost seemed happy to see the tears hiding there.

Stephanie's heart was breaking. She never liked to see him leave. He always told her that there might come a time when he did not return from one of these assignments. And she did not know what she would do without him.

"Come back," she whispered. "Promise you will come back." He looked like he was going to voice his usual objection, saying that he couldn't make that promise. But he stopped. He leaned in and kissed her. And after silently holding her in his arms for a long time, but not nearly long enough, he touched his lips to her forehead and turned to leave.

"Please promise me you'll come back," she whispered at his back as he walked out of the door.

Dim lights from the night sky played across the walls, creating shapes that moved by some unseen force, surrounding her. Threatening to envelop her and absorb her into the darkness that they came from.

Ella found Stephanie hours later, still sitting on the couch, staring vacantly ahead of her. Gently she helped her into the bedroom, Stephanie allowed her to push her back onto the pillows. Ella removed her shoes and pulled the bed cover up to her shoulders. Then she sat down herself on the edge of the bed and softly sang to her. Smoothing the hair from her face, she kept her voice quiet, almost like a whisper.

She was singing lullabies in Spanish, songs that had been sung to children for generations. Meant to comfort, to sooth, to pacify.

Duermete mi nina _Sleep my little girl_

Duermete mi sol _Sleep my sun_

Duermete pedazo _Sleep piece of my heart_

De mi Corazon

Finally Stephanie relaxed and fell asleep. Ella quietly left her, she knew that her heart was breaking, and there was nothing that she could do to fix it.

Xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxox

A canopy of black above them was dotted with pinpricks of lights. Random patterns formed to decorate the skies. Another clear night allowed the beauty of the heavens to be displayed in all of their glory.

Joe had found a balcony that was secluded and alone. Stephanie was looking up at the stars as Joe came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her. Music from the reception below them drifted up to them.

Joe gently turned her in his arms and asked "May I have this dance?" and he led them to the center of the balcony, holding her in his arms as they moved to the music. Joe had his mouth next to her ear, and he was humming the song that was being played. He held her, and danced with her for a long time before he led Stephanie over to an ornate wrought iron bench.

He knelt down on one knee, and took her hand in his. Stephanie couldn't look at him. She knew what was happening and she didn't know how to stop it. Joe finally placed a ring box in her open palm. Then he covered it with his hand.

"Stephanie, you know how much I love you. I would like to spend the rest of my life with you. I hope you feel the same. She looked at him then. He held her eyes. "Steph,

I won't ask you for your answer right now. Please just promise me that you will think about it.

It's a good thing that he didn't expect her to say anything, because she was completely incapable of doing so. But she attempted to smile at him. He sat next to her and put her arm around her. He kissed her cheek and sat in silence with her.

Back on her fire escape, Stephanie was in her thinking position again. Her arms wrapped around her knees. A million thoughts were pounding her head tonight. She knew that Joe had been sincere about his proposal. She also knew that it was no accident that he chosen to do it when Ranger was gone.

Joe was a good guy. They had had their share of differences and problems. But they had also been good friends for nearly a lifetime. That was the problem, Stephanie concluded. Joe was from the world that she left behind when she met Ranger. She realized now that she no longer belonged to that world, and she couldn't go back.

She had no doubt that Joe was getting pressure from his family the same way that she had from hers. Maybe this proposal was a result of that. It was possible that he was not really ready for the whole wife, home, kids, family thing either. The pressures he felt were as real as the ones she felt.

She knew that she couldn't make the wrong choice. It would impact too many lives. In her heart she believed that Joe knew that they were better as friends. And that was what she hoped they could remain.

Xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxox

The playground was crowded for a Sunday afternoon. Stephanie sat on the bench under the shade of the trees. She watched the kids run around and play as she waited for Joe. She had asked him to meet her here, because she felt it was a neutral location and would make what she had to do easier. Joe was waiting for an answer. The next phase of his life would depend on what she had to say.

Joe was another person in her life that was waiting for her to make her decision. She needed him to understand what she would say to him today. She had practiced her speech while she was in Point Pleasant, but now he had changed everything with his proposal. Now she was rejecting him in a whole other way. "Why is everything always so complicated?" she wondered again.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw him. He was walking toward her. He really was good looking. Perfect in that tall, dark and handsome way that, for him, was not a cliché.

She stood as he got closer and hugged him tight when he reached her. This wasn't going to be easy, but she was finally ready to give him the answer that he had waited for, that he deserved.

They sat on the bench, both staring ahead for several long moments. Eventually Joe turned to her. Looking at her without saying a word. He was ready. Stephanie twisted to face him. She took his hand in hers. "I'll always love you."

He looked into her eyes. She smiled a small, almost sad smile. Again she said. "I love you." Taking a deep breath, she handed the jewelry box to him. She kept her eyes on his.

"I love you too much to let you marry me," she said. His eyes showed confusion.

"You have a good heart Joe, I will absolutely not be the one to break it." Taking a deep breath, she continued. "But I would break it if I said yes. Because I love you like a friend. My best friend." She squeezed his hand with both of hers. "I wouldn't be able to love you like a wife. It would all be wrong and I think that we both know it."

She hugged him and told him "I love you too much to keep holding you back from finding the life you need." She pulled back and said, "Joe, I'm setting you free."

Stephanie swallowed hard and whispered "I hope that we can always be friends, but I'll understand if you can't."

Joe wrapped her in his arms. "Thank you for being honest with me Steph." He pulled back. "I won't say that this was easy to hear. But I know that you are right." He kissed the top of her head. Then he stood and walked away. Leaving her sitting alone on the bench.


	7. Chapter 7

Standard FF disclaimers

April 2012

Chapter 7

Every muscle felt heavy, weighed down by an unseen pressure. Even his eyes were heavy, he struggled to open them, but was not successful. So he analyzed what he knew about his situation.

Ranger could hear the steady hum of machinery. Small machines. Sounds seemed distant, muffled, but he started to make out the steady beeping sounds. Medical machines. He was probably in a hospital.

The answers were there at the edges of his brain, but he wasn't able to access them yet. His analysis continued. He had to assess his situation and determine the best and quickest way to get back to Stephanie. It was the one thought in his mind. She had said please. He had heard her whispered plea. It had nearly ripped him in two when she said it. And he would do everything that he could to return to her.

"Ich habe hunger. Gehen zu mittag zu essen*." He heard a masculine voice say.

Some one else said, "hinunter die halle.*" This was a woman. They both must have been outside of his room, they were quiet voices. He was in a German hospital. Suddenly he heard a loud voice very close to him.

"Rufen si den doktor an!*" It was an urgent statement. Immediately there were more and more voices, and unidentified noises. And suddenly there was nothing. Nothing at all. Blackness came over him and drowned everything else.

Beep…beep…beep…beep…beep…beep…beep…beep…beep…beep…beep…beep…

The steady sound was familiar, once again he analyzed what he could from his surroundings. The sounds were expected from a hospital setting. Somehow he knew that was where he was. His muscles and eyes still felt heavy. He couldn't seem to be able to move his body, but he was able to slowly open his eyes.

The white walls appeared to be glowing. He must be heavily drugged. But he kept concentrating and continued his analysis. The white walls were not customary in the German hospitals that he had seen. If he had been in a German hospital before, he was not there now. If he had to guess, he would say that he had been transported stateside. This was probably a government building, most likely in DC. "Good," he thought, "I'm getting closer to Stephanie."

What had happened? That was the question that he had, he still knew that the answers were right there, but just out of reach. A series of clicking and a whirring sound interrupted his thoughts. And then the black returned.

*Ich habe hunger. Gehen zu mittag zu essen = _I'm hungry, going to lunch_

*hinunter die halle" = _down the hall_

*Rufen si den doktor an" = _Call the doctor_

Xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxox

"Hey guys, look at this," Lester said staring at one of the monitors. A group gathered around the desk and they watched. Stephanie was in the gym downstairs, and she was punishing a punching bag with her kicks.

Whump….Whump….Whump….Whump…..Whump. These were steady, strong kicks. She systematically walked around the bag and kicked with all her might. Sweat was streaming down her face, her whole body was drenched.

Suddenly she stood in one place and dished out a punishment that could only have been intended for herself. The bag didn't mind.

Thump..Thump..Thump..Thump she was kicking over and over with one leg. Pouring more and more power into each kick. Thump..Thump..Thump..Thump..Thump..Thump..

"How long has she been doing this?" Tank asked as he walked up and saw what they were watching.

"I noticed her at least half an hour ago," replied Woody. "She has pretty much kept up this intensity the whole time too," he added.

Tank turned and headed for the stairs. He called Bobby and Ella, requesting that they meet him in the gym.

This was not the first time that Stephanie had been taking her frustrations out down here, but she seemed to have increased her aggression. She couldn't keep this up. Tank knew

that they were going to have to do something, now, or there wouldn't much of Stephanie left for Ranger to come home to.

As they approached the gym, they could hear the continued pounding on the punching bag. Then suddenly it was over. Silence ruled the gym and they looked around for Stephanie. Ella spotted her first and ran over to her. Bobby was right behind her and they fell to their knees next to Stephanie at the same time.

She had collapsed. "understandable," thought Bobby, the body has certain safeguards and it will make you pass out if you push the limits. He checked her carefully, her breathing was still labored and raspy. Her sweaty body was red, overheated. Her cheeks were damp from tears.

"She has really done a job on herself this time," Bobby said. "We are going to have to put a stop to this."

Ella pulled out a small embroidered handkerchief from one of her many pockets. She was gently wiping Stephanie's face. "calmate mija, shhhh shhhh nena,"* she was murmuring words in Spanish. Again she was treating her as a child. Because she knew that Stephanie was in need of as much comfort as she could get right now. Bobby could help take care of her body. Ella was here to take care of her heart.

*calmate mija, shhhh shhhh nena = _calm yourself child, hush hush little one_

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxox

Rich wood grains gleamed on the large desk in front of him. Book shelves covered the walls from floor to ceiling in the two story room. A brass ladder on gleaming rails circling the room provided access to all of the books. At this moment, his friend, Colonel Pickering, was precariously perched on the ladder, stretching to reach the book that he was searching for. Only problem was that Pickering looked an awful lot like Bobby. Ranger realized that he had been cast in the role of Henry Higgins. And the scene played out.

"My good man" Col Pickering was saying. "You have excelled. Exceeded your expectations, what more could you have wanted out of this adventure.

"That is just the problem, Pickering, I never expected any more than this. But she won't leave me alone."

Confused, the Colonel said, "Eliza has been hounding you? Here at the house? Good gracious man, what are you going to do about it?"

"No, no you've got it all wrong, Pickering. She is gone." Higgins said. "She is gone and I can't get her out of my mind. The look in her eyes when she left haunts me every moment."

His friend repeated, "What are you going to do about it?"

"Well, that's just it, isn't it. Surely she knows that a man such as myself is perfectly fine on my own. After all I have always been a bachelor, it suits me, my life." Higgins said.

"She must understand that, mustn't she?" Prof Higgins insisted. He looked so confused. "It just wouldn't do, she wouldn't want to put up with my damned ingrained ways." "Would she?"

The older gentleman seemed to understand the affairs of the heart much better than his friend. He climbed back down the ladder, holding his book firmly under his arm. As Col. Pickering strolled out of the room, he turned and said "I guess there is nothing to be done but to talk to her." "A problem of this magnitude will not disappear on its own."

Then he left Henry alone with his thoughts.

"That was it then," Higgins thought. He would talk to her. He wasn't sure how, but he needed to talk to her.

Stephanie. I must speak with Stephanie, it was the last thought before the darkness returned.

Xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoox

Somewhere in the background there was music accompanying Sanskrit chants. The effect was a soothing monotone resonance that seemed to reach her core. Dimmed lights softened the edges of the room, creating a cocoon of security. Combining to set the mood for what Ella assured her would be one of the most intense experiences she'd ever had.

Unlike other yoga, this was Restorative Yoga, meant to repair muscles through unique breathing and stretching techniques.

A dozen ladies lined up their mats along side of Ella and Stephanie, all facing their instructor. Ciara led the group through one unusual stretch after another. Getting into the poses was not as much of a trick as Stephanie thought it would be. It was holding the pose and remembering to breathe that proved to be difficult. She could definitely feel the 'sensations' of her movements, which was Ciara's word for pain.

Ella moved through each pose with amazing grace, and she made it look so easy. The final pose, Stephanie decided, was her favorite. The starfish was something that she could really handle. She could feel each of her muscles. And they all wanted to lay still indefinitely. She had to be persuaded, at the end of the session, to sit up cross legged to participate in the final moment as they chanted Omm in unison. Palms facing each other, hands resting against the sternum. She could feel the vibrations of her chant in her hands and she started crying. The tears were partly from exhaustion. And partly from a memory that was triggered by that sensation.

She saw clearly in her mind the day that Ranger took her on her first distraction. He had been taping the wire around her body. As he reached around her back they were chest to chest. Ranger was laughing, a low sexy sound that she could feel as it vibrated against her chest.

She couldn't stop crying, she wanted him here with her. She thought that if she ever held him again, she would never let him go. The lights were still low, but Ella noticed her tears and knelt beside her wrapping her arms around her.

"Stephanie, Carina, it will be okay, todo estara bein. No te preocupe" Ella spoke in a low, soft voice. Trying to reassure her.

Everyone had left by the time Stephanie was ready to leave Ella's protective embrace. The studio was quiet, and still bathed in the low lights. Stephanie looked at Ella finally and asked.

"Will it ever not hurt?"

Ella knew what she meant, and she wished that she could give an answer that would satisfy her. But she knew that if Ranger did not comeback. The answer could very well be "no."

As they left, Ciara placed her hands in front of her. "Namaste!" she said.

Namaste.

*todo estara bein. No te preocupe" = _it will be okay, don't you worry_

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxox

Six weeks had past. Ranger had no idea that he had been in a drug induced coma, giving his body a chance to heal from the injuries that he had sustained during this last assignment.

His one thought throughout everything had been returning to Stephanie. It was all that had kept him going while he drifted through the pain, momentarily rising out of the coma. And he still held the goal in his mind and heart.

He was gaining consciousness. They were bringing him out of the coma, he must be okay. The pain increased. That was alright, he could handle it. It was another step closer to Stephanie.

The numbing of his mind slowly decreased. His thoughts were getting a little clearer, more defined. At first it felt like a relief. But with the clarity, came his memories. The horrors of the circumstances in which he was injured.

While some of the assignment had been fulfilled, and ultimately it had been a success. The cost had been high. Ranger could now remember the part that had gone wrong, terribly wrong. He could not shake the images from his mind. He had risked his life to save the young soldier, but in doing so he had placed himself in the position of seeing what was happening in the compound that they had infiltrated.

He shut his eyes, he did not want to see the images of the children, of the women, of the countless other prisoners that had been tortured there. That were being tortured there. Closing his eyes would not help, did not help. The scenes played over and over in his mind. Almost as if it were an avalanche, memories of other assignments, other horrors piled one on top of the other until he could take no more. He split himself from the terror. Detaching his mind from the images he had seen. Leaving him almost catatonic.

Rangers body had healed, but his mind and his heart may be beyond repair.


	8. Chapter 8

Standard FF disclaimers

April 2012

Chapter 8

"Babe!"

Stephanie sat up in the bed. She had heard his voice, as clear as if he were next to her. He only said the one word. But this time she knew exactly what it meant.

"I need you. Please find me."

She had had nightmares before, after the Worneki incident. But this was not anything like those dreams. It was real. Just like she had been feeling him, a feeling inside of her that responded to him with all her heart. She needed to be with him too. She had felt empty without him. For weeks she had almost been suffocating from the despair. The overwhelming hollow feeling that being without him had left in her heart.

But suddenly last week he was there, filling that place in her soul that yearned for him. At the same time it thrilled and confused her. How could she feel him, he was still gone. According to Tank he was far away. How could she feel him so near?

Stephanie thought that maybe he was finally here, maybe he had arrived at Haywood and stopped in his office. Her mind was grasping at ideas to explain how she felt. If he was here, she was going to him! As she threw the bedcovers back, she grabbed whatever was closest to put on before racing down the stairs to the 5th floor. Of course she was barefoot, and her feet make slapping sounds on the tiles as she ran down. Running down the hallway she almost ran in to Tank.

"He's back" she said. "When did he get here?" She was moving toward the office, confused that the light was not on, it was dark in there. She stopped and looked at Tank.

"Where is he?" she asked. Tears threatening to fall as she waited for his response.

"Steph," he is not here, Ranger is gone." He looked seriously into her face. "Why do you think he is here," he asked her.

He was aware of the connection that Ranger had always had with Stephanie. It was uncanny and had seen it lead Ranger to her in too many instances to be able to dismiss it as a crazy notion. "Did she have the same connection with Ranger?" he asked himself. It made sense. Why wouldn't she?

He continued to look at her, she was breathing hard from her haste to get down here. She was looking at him like she wanted to say, "You just have to believe that I know."

"I can feel him Tank," she said slowly, deliberately. "He needs me, he called to me to find him."

Tank was speechless. He did believe her, she could have that connection, but Ranger was really not here. He was still under medical observation in DC. It was top secret that he was back, there should be no way that Stephanie would know that.

"Tank," her voice matched the desperation that he could see in her face. "I have to find him," she said. "Will you help me?" she pleaded.

"I've got to get to him."

"Now!"

Although it was 0300 hours, Ella came hurrying down the hall.

"What is it?" she asked. "What happened?"

Tank did not care how Ella always knew to be where she was needed. He was just grateful that she was here now. He asked her to talk to Stephanie in his office. He left them there and made his way quickly to Rangers office. There was a phone call that he needed to make, immediately. If the intel that he had been given was not complete he was going to be upset. But more than that, he was going to be very concerned. Ranger was stateside, that meant that he had been badly injured. Until he knew the accurate details. He would not know how to deal with Stephanie.

30 minutes later Ella and Stephanie were tucked into the back seat of his truck and Tank was headed to the mission headquarters in DC. The call he made had been unwelcome. They did not want to give him the information that he sought. But Tank had a few favors he could call in, and just the threat of using them prompted the powers that be to cooperate with him.

Bottom line was that Ranger was healing physically. His body had responded well to the coma. But something had happened the day they brought him down out of it. His mind seemed to shut down. No amount of counseling that they had forced him to go to had helped. He had not said a single word. Even in his dreams, he only ever said one word. "Babe"

It had taken Tank an additional 10 minutes of coercion to get them to tell him what the one word was. And when he heard the answer, he knew that he had to get Stephanie to his friend. Ranger had found a way to call for help, and Tank would be the first one in line to get it to him.

Usually Stephanie could fall asleep in a car, Ranger teased her about it all the time. But for the duration of this trip, she was wide awake. Her mind would not stop spinning scenarios of what might happen when they arrived. She had to admit that the first hour of it she was disturbed. The what if's ruled and she was afraid that someone might try to keep her from Ranger. But the closer they got the stronger her connection with him seemed to be. She knew that she would fight for all she was worth to get to him. No one could stop her.

She was ready for this. Without knowing it she had been preparing all month for this moment. By breaking up with Joe, she had freed up her mind to examine her relationship with Ranger.

Every day her thoughts had gone back to her dream. The 11 year old Stephanie never understood the intricacies of the relationship between Eliza and Prof Higgins, but she did relate to Eliza's need to be accepted. In one way or another Stephanie had been looking for the same kind of acceptance from the men in her life. But it wasn't until her dream that she realized that only one man had ever offered it to her. Albeit reluctantly, Ranger was the one who accepted her as she was.

Meeting him had completely changed the world that she lived in. Her mind and her heart now realized that she never wanted to go back. So she had committed to her future in his world. With Ella's help, she had made a bold decision to move into Rangers apartment on the seventh floor. It no longer seemed like a presumptuous thing to do. She wanted to be with him, and that meant leaving her former world behind. So she not only moved out of her apartment, she gave it up. Dillon was surprised, but ironically he said, he had just had a couple asking if he had any vacancies. Apparently the building was in the perfect location for them. So he could call them and immediately fill the vacancy.

Old Stephanie would have hyperventilated about not having a backup place to run to. But there was no hesitancy in her now. She knew where she wanted to be and she was ready to move forward to make it happen.

Prof Higgins never admitted that he needed, that he loved. The words were never spoken. Eliza knew, and after some tears and soul searching she accepted that he could know and still not say it. She would move on without the words, because the actions were more important.

Recognizing the parallels in her relationship with Ranger, Stephanie also decided that she didn't need the words. He had always shown her with his actions. With every car, with every kiss, with every "Babe" and smile. So Stephanie wanted to show him with her actions, that it was enough. It was everything. And she knew what was in his heart.

Stephanie's musings were interrupted by their arrival in DC. Now, with every inch closer, her senses were screaming at her. He was so close, so close.

Tank led them down a series of hallways. There was no one to be seen. And it felt like that was by design. Somewhere in her mind, Stephanie realized that she was not supposed to be here, to know about this place. Looking up at Tank, she saw his determination. He had arranged for this to happen. She would be eternally grateful for him. She knew that he would do anything for his friend. Tank knew that Ranger needed her.

Tank knew where they were going, but Stephanie was walking ahead of him, she could feel her way. So when she stopped in front of a locked door and looked at him to open it, he was surprised. But he nodded. She had found him, Ranger was on the other side of this door. After Tank entered a complicated series of number codes into the key pad, the door finally clicked.

Stephanie pushed open the door and walked in. The room was dimly lit. There were monitors surrounding the bed, but Ranger was not hooked up to any of them. Something inside of her was surprised. She had assumed that he was badly hurt. She expected him to be in a hospital, with all that that it includes. But here he was in front of her looking unharmed.

Tank anticipated her question. "Steph, his injuries have healed, his torture, now is in his head. He has not been responding to any outside stimulation." Tank turned Stephanie to look at him, when their eyes met he said, "the only words he has spoken have been in his sleep." She nodded at him to continue. "The only word he has said is "Babe," he explained. And she understood. Tank believed that Stephanie was the only one who could help Ranger. "Bring him back to us Steph," he said.

Tank nodded at her. He stepped back to the entrance of the room with Ella. They left, closing the door behind them.

Stephanie walked over to the bed. She looked at Ranger. He was perfect, his dark skin such a contrast against the white pillow. She placed her hand on his cheek. Just the feel of his warmth sent fire racing through her body, she needed to be close to him. Carefully

she crawled up onto the bed, and curled up in his side. Caressing his cheek with her hand she whispered into his ear.

"I'm here Carlos. Come back to me." With her head on his shoulder, and her arm hugging his chest, Stephanie fell asleep. The rise and fall of her chest matching Ranger's with every breath they took.

Xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxox

The world Ranger had created for himself was safe. No one could find him here. They could not harm him, they could not provoke him, they could not affect him. He could compartmentalize every single thing in his life. It was a great ability to have when fighting evil and all that is bad in the world. And he had honed his skill over years. Separating his mind from his body had kept his safe, kept him sane more times than he could count. Not everyone could create such a carefully protected haven. But Ranger did this well, like he did everything in his life well. But his only hope was that someone could find their way in to this world and lead him back home.

All that was pleasant, and good was here. Why would he want to leave? His mind settled into the comfortable space. He should be content, relieved. But there was something that he had forgotten. And now it became his focus. He needed to remember. It was important. He must remember. He would remember. But not yet, now he needed to sleep. He was happy in his sleep, he could find her in his dreams. And he wanted to be with her. He had always only wanted to be with Stephanie

And he did find her. Just as he knew he could, here in his dreams. He could smell her sweet shampoo in her hair. Feel her soft touch when she caressed his face. He could feel the warmth of her body next to him. The sensations were so real, he would swear that she was really there. Yes, he loved his dreams, because she was there with him. He never wanted to wake from them. If he woke up, he would have to leave her. "Something important to remember," he thought. "I'll remember." But then he slept.

"Please wake up for me Carlos," she whispered. "Come back."

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxox


	9. Chapter 9

Standard FF disclaimers

April 2012

Chapter 9

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo

Click..Click..Click..Click

Click…..Click..Click…..Click…Click…Click

…..Click…Click…Click…Click

Another series of clicks accompanied the annoying tapping on the keypad on the other side of the door. Stephanie stared warily in that direction. Who ever was about to come into the room had not been here before. And she was prepared to not trust this person either. For three days now, there had been a steady stream of "visitors" to Rangers room. Doctors, food service, psychologists, housekeeping, top secret military personnel, etc.

Stephanie could tell this person had not been here before because of the rhythm of the taps on the keyboard. In every other instance they had been quick, steady, efficient clicks. This person did not have the codes memorized, probably had a slip of paper to refer to, because the taps were hesitant, sporadic. And she was pretty sure she did not want to talk to this person any more than any of the others who had come in here.

Since the moment she had arrived, she had been insisting that this sterile box they had been keeping Ranger in was not helping him. The glaring white of the walls was harsh. The whole place had an institutional smell to it, a mixture of industrial cleaning products, paperwork, and metal. It was uninviting and severe. Stephanie wanted to take him home. She knew that she could reach him if he was in an environment that he was familiar with, that he trusted.

Tank had been fighting this battle with her. He had been going round in circles with the "powers that be" to get Ranger released from this awful place. She was ready to stage a breakout. She almost smiled at the thought. She didn't even know where she was. Her only focus, when she made her way through the halls before, was to find Ranger. She certainly would not know how to get out of here.

Finally the door opened. A much older gentleman stepped gingerly into the room. As he moved awkwardly towards the bed, Stephanie noticed his left foot was in an orthopedic type shoe, heavy and chunky looking. His left arm seemed to be crooked at an angle that never moved, his hand crippled. His entire left side seemed to be damaged, partially paralyzed. But he had a kind look on his face, a stark contrast to the faces she had seen before. She had no idea what to expect from him, so she instinctively moved closer to Ranger. Her arms protectively wrapped around his waist as they sat together on the bed.

Her eyes were trained on this man, waiting to see what would happen next. He smiled at her.

"I see that I have upset the lioness," he said as he maneuvered into the chair beside the bed. His voice was low and raspy, a smokers voice. But it was warm, friendly, like a grandfather. Stephanie made no movement, said no words. She just continued to watch this man.

"You have created quite a stir around here young lady," he said. "There are many people telling me that you need to be removed from this situation." He noticed that her grip on Ranger increased, she held him tighter. And Ranger looked at her. His eyes were vacant, glazed over, but he inclined his head toward her. He knew she was there. In his near catatonic state, he was aware of her. He was relaxed in her arms. He wanted her there. He felt safe with her.

This seemed to be the answer that he needed. Slowly the gentleman lifted himself out of the chair. He leaned forward over the bed and reached his good hand out to Stephanie. She no longer felt threatened by him, there was something gentle about this man, so she extended her hand to him. He grasped it and squeezed it firmly.

"You will find him," he said as he looked into her eyes. "He wants you to, he need you."

Stephanie drew in a sharp breath, she narrowed her eyes, just a fraction, but he noticed the gesture, and it made him smile. The General had known Ranger for a very long time. He knew of his reluctance to form relationships. And he understood better than anyone else why. But somehow Ranger had found someone willing to fight for him. This girl, still dressed in the yoga pants and long sleeved t-shirt she arrived in. This woman, with the wild mop of hair, disheveled from hours of comforting her friend. This was the one person who could save him. No degree, no authority, no training, she would do what no one else could, because she loved him.

"Take him," the General said. "Take him with you and help him find his way home."

With those words, the man turned and walked out of the room. "Lucky bastard," he thought. And he knew that Ranger would be in good hands. Whether or not he would admit it, Ranger was lucky enough to have found his soul mate. He shook his head as he walked through the door. "Lucky bastard," he thought again.

Tank turned in his seat and looked at Stephanie. She should have looked like she had just gone through hell. The past three days had been rough. Then he looked at his friend. Ranger was laying across the seat, his head was in her lap and she was gently stroking his hair. Her eyes never leaving him. Tank had seen Ranger in some really bad places before, probably none as bad as this. But he knew that Stephanie was the key. She was the only person that could bring Ranger back.

By the time they had finished their discussions with the medical personnel, and with their negotiations, and paper work, it was dark. He was relieved to be leaving DC. They were finally returning to Trenton. She was taking him home to care for him. She would love him home again. That was actually the extent of her plan. And she was praying that she would find the way to do it.

Xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoox

Pots clanked against the stove, more bags of food had been brought into Rangers apartment. The sounds of cupboards being opened and closed accompanied the sounds of the meal being prepared in his kitchen. Ella was cooking for them again, and wonderful aromas drifted into the living room. Stephanie heard her stomach growl. She hadn't realized how hungry she actually was. Her focus was still on Ranger. They were seated on the couch, and Stephanie leaned forward, slipping her legs out from underneath her, where she had been curled up next to him. She allowed herself a moment to let the blood start to flow again, her legs felt all tingly. She rubbed her hands over her face. Looking up again, she stared at the screen. The credits were rolling for another unknown movie. DVD's were scattered all over the coffee table, they had watched, but had not really seen dozens of movies over the past few weeks.

Stephanie fought the feelings of discouragement. She had hoped that by now, she would have been able to reach Ranger. Every day she was faced with feelings of failure. But she never second guessed her original instinct. She knew that he was better off here than he would have been if they had made him stay in DC. She still believed that she had enough love for the both of them, and that she could the find a way to let him feel it. But it was so hard to see him, with his mind so far away from her.

She stood and made her way to the kitchen. Ranger was awake, he wouldn't even realize that she had left his side. It was only when he slept that he seemed to sense that she was there. Stephanie helped Ella with the dinner preparations. And then she led Ranger to the table. They ate in silence. None of the attempts at conversation were acknowledged, so she stopped trying to keep up the idle chatter. Instead she would save her soothing words for when he had fallen asleep in her arms. She felt that he was most receptive to her then.

Ranger was still non-responsive. For days at time he would eat when she prompted him to do so. He would go through the motions of daily routines. He showered, shaved, dressed. But he spoke no words. He made no eye contact. She looked forward to the nights. The only way Stephanie even knew that he was aware of her presence was when he slept. She would allow him to fall asleep first and she would watch him. His face changed, it softened, he almost smiled.

As they lay in bed, she would curl up in his side, and he would wrap his arms around her and hold her tight. His lips would whisper in her hair.

"Babe." It was still the only word spoken. And only in his dreams. She would spend hours with him, sleeping. Just so that she could hear him. The affection in his voice, when he said that single word, brought new tears to her eyes every time he said it.

She wanted to know where he was, what he was seeing, what he was doing when he called to her in his dreams. Stephanie wished, more than anything else, that she could join him there. For now, all she could do was answer his call. All night long she would talk to him. She would tell him of the events of the day. While they fixed meals, Ella was more than willing to fill her in on what was going on with the guys. Tank kept her informed of the business dealings.

So Stephanie talked, she told jokes and laughed, she whispered her love for him. And she cried. But she did it for him, believing that it was what he needed. But after two weeks had gone by, she was scared that it wasn't enough.

Her focus had been solely on him, on his needs. She was being what he needed her to be. She was his world, but she didn't even know it. Stephanie just wanted him back.

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxox

"Remember, damn it," Ranger told himself. It is important. Every night his dreams let him live with Stephanie. Every night he could feel her in his arms. He could hear her

talking. Her words seemed to speak of a life he once knew, of people he once spent time with. He loved the sound of her voice, it didn't really matter what the words were, he just wanted to hear her, know that she was near. He loved the feel of her touch. He slept so that he could feel her touch his face, so gently with her hands. To feel her, with her kisses, on his cheek, on his neck, on his lips. In his sleep he felt her arms holding him so tight. Her breath on his neck as she spoke. He would sleep forever to feel her near him.

"Think… what did you forget?" The urgency of these messages caused Ranger to worry. He knew that it was important. But over and over again he pushed the thoughts away. They got in the way of his dreams with Stephanie. He only wanted to be with her.

"Remember!"

Then it happened. He heard the words, "what did she say?" He waited, listening. Would she say it again? Something came to the surface of his mind. It was still too far away to grab it, to bring it into focus, but it was there. Would she say it again? He held his breath, he didn't want to miss it if she did. His body tensed, he needed to know.

"Te amo Carlos," she said it with no hesitation. He believed her. These were the words spoken that reached in and touched the place in his heart that could lead him back home. Tears came to his eyes.

He remembered. She was home, Stephanie was his home. And she was there. Not in his dreams. She was there. He wanted to go to her now. He wanted to go home.

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxox

Something changed. Stephanie felt it immediately. She looked up at Ranger. He seemed to be asleep. But his muscles had tensed, as if he were ready to get up. His breathing had become shallow, as if he were holding his breath. She sat up alarmed. Something was wrong. She knelt by his side, pulling him up into her arms. She kissed his cheek and felt the tears. She wrapped her arms tighter around him, still kneeling.

"What's wrong Carlos," she pleaded for him to let her know.

He hugged her tight, his head tucked into her shoulder. His lips on her neck.

"Babe"

Stephanie rocked him and cried for the rest of the night.

"Babe," he whispered over and over. "Carlos, tell me what is wrong," she thought again and again as her tears flowed.

"Te amo Carlos," she said the words, whispers that reached his soul.

Xoxoxoxoxoxoxooxxooxox

Another movie was playing, she didn't know which one she had started this time, she didn't care. Her thoughts were miles away. There had been a subtle change in Ranger a few nights ago. It had seemed so significant at the time. Stephanie had been scared to death. But by morning things seemed the same. They spent the day like all of the others. She would leave him to get showered. He would sit at the table, and she would coax him into eating something. They would sit on the couch and she would hold him as she read aloud. She had books, newspapers, magazines. They had read them all. She would put on a movie, just for the background noise, they never actually watched them anymore.

His hold on her was relaxed. He seemed comfortable, so Stephanie gently slipped out of his arms and took the opportunity to grab a couple of bottles of water. She couldn't always get him to eat, but if she offered him water, he always accepted it. As she walked back in to the living room, she noticed that he had fallen asleep. He rarely slept during the day, but his nights had become so restless, she was glad that he was able to sleep now. Stephanie walked over to the couch, she would sit with him as he slept. He seemed to relax more when she was with him. When she rounded the couch, she bumped her shin on the coffee table. It didn't actually hurt, but the surprise of it caused her lose her grip on the water bottles as she tried to keep her balance.

They made soft thudding sounds as they hit the floor and rolled. Stephanie froze, she looked at Ranger, he had just fallen asleep. She hoped her mishap hadn't awakened him. His eyes remained closed. So she got down on her hands and knees, looking for the bottles. One of them had gone under the table, the other rolled under the couch. After retrieving the bottle from under the table and setting it on top, Stephanie was reaching far under the couch for the other one.

She finally got a hold on it and straightened up. Still on her knees, she twisted to put it on the table too. Before she could get up, she heard a low chuckle. She was startled. Looking up at Ranger she saw the sparkle in his eyes. Her heart stopped, it was the first time he had looked at her in weeks. Tears formed in her eyes. She was speechless, and she continued to stare at him.

"If there is a pair of slippers down there, I am going to be really disturbed," he smiled at her.

Stephanie laughed at the reference to the movie, he _had _watched it! She launched herself at him and hugged his neck.

"Oh Carlos, you're back!" she exclaimed. Tears freely flowing now, her joy filled her entire being. He was holding her tight in his arms.

"You found me, Babe," he said in a hoarse whisper. "Thank you for coming for me."

"Of course I would come for you," Stephanie thought. This is exactly where she wanted to be. The only place she had ever wanted to be.

The tears took away her ability to speak. She just hugged him tighter.

"Te amo," he whispered to her. "I love you."

"You don't have to say it," Stephanie started to say, as she pulled back to look into his eyes. She was shaking her head slightly. "You don't have…." Ranger put his fingers over her lips to keep her from finishing the sentence.

"Yes," he said. "Yes I do," he looked into her big blue eyes. The ones he had been dreaming of every night.

"I want to say it, I need you to know." He kept his gaze on her face.

"You are everything to me,"

Stephanie knew that she could have lived without hearing the words. She knew now she was welcome in his world. But hearing the words gave her something that she didn't even know that she needed. They healed her. They reached into that part of her that worried that she wasn't good enough. The words wrapped around her heart to mend every tear from the past. That was what she needed.

She was accepted into his world. Where she always wanted to be. But now she understood.

She was his world.

She had come into his life, turned it upside down. And saved him. He knew that he needed her. He knew that he would never have to live without her. And that was what he needed.

"I love you Babe," he said again.

Te amo," she whispered. "I'll never let you go."

Ranger smiled at Stephanie, that million watt smile that melted her inside and out.

"I'll hold you to that," he said.

After years of dancing around each other, of agonizing about their seemingly impossible relationship. All they had ever really needed was to _be_. To be what the other needed. And it didn't take any words for them to realize that now that they had figured it out, that was all they would ever have to be...

The End


	10. Epilogue

Standard FF disclaimers

April 2012

Epilogue: Accepting Destiny

The Burg was watching. The spectacular accident in the Delaware river got the attention of the entire community. It was all over the news and being talked about in the gossip channels of the Burg. Of course, when word of the breakup between Stephanie Plum and Joe Morelli hit the air waves, the river incident was all but forgotten. There was a new show to watch. Joe had been seen with a different woman every night since the breakup. Seemed like he was trying to audition a replacement for Stephanie, but it didn't look like he was having much success. Everyone knew that the Bombshell would be a hard act to follow. There were all kids of theories about why they broke up, and how long it would be till they got back together. Bets were made, big wagers on the love life of Plum and Morelli. But just when everyone thought things were really going to get good…

Stephanie disappeared.

For weeks she had been keeping to herself. She couldn't work, with her arm in the cast. So she was not seen at the Bonds Office, or at the police station. She didn't stop by for donuts at the Tasty Pastry. She did not eat at Pinos. Her family barely heard from her. Just a few phone calls, to let them know she was fine. And then, that she had moved. Her mother had nearly had a fit when Stephanie broke off with Joe. They had been close to getting married. She was so close to having her daughter settled down and taken care of. Now what would she do? Helen didn't think she could last much longer. Waiting for her daughter decide what she was going to do with her life was almost killing her. Joe would have cared for her and would have made her quit the awful bounty hunting job. Now what was going to happen? The silence from Stephanie did nothing to settle her mind. Frank repeatedly told her to give their daughter some space, some time. She didn't want to listen to him, what did he know about the pressure that she was under to get Stephanie taken care of? Helen would have marched right over to Stephanie's place and given her a good talking to, but it was impossible to get to her at the apartment at RangeMan. And since Stephanie had stopped answering her phone, she just had to wait, like everyone else to see what would happen next.

Gossip had turned to wild speculation, and then even that died down. The Burg grapevines were suspended, apprehensive, waiting. Any news about Joe and his latest date was not enough to keep interest if Stephanie wasn't involved and there weren't sparks flying from their confrontations. A two month long dry spell dragged painfully along. Suddenly the news hit and spread like a wild fire. There was a new couple in town. Ranger and Stephanie were seen at Shorty's, at Pinos, at her parents house, and the Bonds office. No one knew what had happened. They would not ever know. The few that did know were not talking. But the great news carried the Burg into the next big blab fest event.

Stephanie had been blissfully unaware of the whole Burg dilemma. She had her mind on other things. Mainly Ranger. Once she had said goodbye to Joe, she concentrated on getting her life ready to share with Ranger. She went through the entire spectrum of emotions. She missed him so badly it actually hurt. She would try to drown out the pain in her heart by punishing her body. Her "workouts" were wearing her down and scaring the guys. So they sat down with her and talked out her frustrations. She was again amazed at how many heroes she had in her life. Bobby set up a fitness plan that would allow her to work out her pent up energies. And he recruited Ella, giving her the diet information that would allow Stephanie's body to keep up with her aggressive schedule. Tank and Lester arranged to work out with her and help her learn new skills. Their introduction of Tai Bo techniques reminded her of the mindset she had been experienced at the yoga class. Harmony and balance. Uniting of mind and body. It worked, she was able to deal with missing Ranger in a whole new way. Looking forward now, to building a relationship with him.

Being prepared in this way helped her through the hardest weeks of her life. After bringing Ranger home. She agonized over how she could reach him. Stephanie knew that she held the key, if only she could find it and use it to open his hidden world. She should have known. It was love, _her_ love that saved him. All she had to do was tell him that she loved him. Pure and simple. That was the only key needed.

Nothing would ever compare to the moment that Ranger came 'home'. Declaring his love for her was only the beginning. They had a life time stretching out before them. Without hesitation, they started to live their new life together.

Ranger was determined to court Stephanie, properly. Well, as properly as you could when you were living together. He was so pleased to find out that she had had enough faith in him_, in them_, to give up her apartment and move in with him. It gave him strength to know that she understood him so well.

Their first 'date' was a trip to Point Pleasant. Picking up food at Pinos on their way out of town, was one of the first places that they were seen together. They were actually gone by the time word hit the grapevine and announced the obvious indications of a relationship between them. Helen was floored. What was Stephanie doing to her this time? And still she had to wait until they got back to talk to her. Stephanie did not take her phone with her!

The burg had been holding its collective breath. With Stephanie now connected with Ranger, they were sure a showdown was coming. Bets were on to see who it would be with first, Helen or Joe. But the showdown didn't come, instead they got a show.

Bomber meets Boomer!

Waterfront stadium was packed. It was the last home game of the season. Thunder fans are great, and support their team year round. But tonight a larger crowd was present, all hoping to see the Bombshell Bounty Hunter.

Mona Schiller was a sharp woman. She was always looking to make life a little better for someone, anyone. She was, and always had been single so she championed causes for the kids she never had. Working for the Thunder was fulfilling for her because she had been able to participate in their charity programs for children.

In section 12, right behind home plate, there was a solid wall of navy Thunder jerseys. RangeMan had been invited to attend the game. And instead of the usual black, everyone was wearing the jerseys to show support for the team.

This had been Mona's brainstorm. She had hatched the idea the day she met Stephanie. Several days later, after Stephanie had been released from the hospital, Mona had approached her about her plan. It was still over 2 month away, so they both thought there was plenty of time to work out the details. Originally Stephanie had just planned on showing up at the game by herself. She was more than willing to use the notoriety she usually got in the newspapers for a good cause for once. But after she 'found' Ranger, they decided to make it a big function for the entire company.

Mona reserved the section, as well as a luxury booth for RangeMan. Ranger brought in his contract workers to watch business at RangeMan while all of the Merry Men and their families joined them at the stadium. It was planned to be a great outing for the guys, and an excellent opportunity to help children from New Jersey to Haiti. The local chapter of the Knights of Columbus teamed with RangeMan to make this night a spectacular success. The entire stadium, and several news crews, were all waiting for the 7th inning stretch for the show.

Stephanie had agreed to come out on the field with the mascots; Boomer the thunderbird and Strike the thunderbolt. And while she usually never liked to draw attention to herself, on purpose. This was a purpose she could stand behind.

The whole family joined them. Grandma Mazur dragged Frank and Helen along, they had been acting like party poopers and she would have none of that. The tension at the Plum home was nearly unbearable. Something had to give soon. But Edna refused to let Helen any where near Stephanie. Helen still hadn't talked to Stephanie since their trip to Point Pleasant. It would have to happen soon, just not here at the stadium, she didn't want her to create a scene. Val and Albert were having a ball with the girls, spending as much time in the luxury suite with Frank and Helen (and the great spread of food) as they did in the seats with Stephanie and Ranger. Grandma Mazur was all over the stadium. She was enjoying the crowds, the food, and the view. Who wouldn't love to be surrounded by a sea of big, good looking men and their packages. It didn't take long for Mona and Edna to meet. Stephanie was right, they got along famously from the very first moment they started talking.

When it was finally time. Stephanie and Ranger walked onto the field. Both Boomer and Strike were wheeling around them on their little off road bikes. The crowds were going wild when they nearly ran over Stephanie, and Ranger nearly punched out the thunderbird.

Mary Alice was getting a great view from the dugout on top of Hanks shoulders. Mary Alice called Hank her hero, and Hank called M.A. his good luck charm. They had met a few weeks after the accident. Stephanie found out that M.A. was having nightmares about her being trapped in the river. She became terrified of water. Val had a hard time even getting her to let the water run over her head when she washed her hair. So Stephanie called in Hank and Bobby to help her. She told M.A. that Hank saved her and he knew all about water, and his easy manner won her confidence immediately. And Bobby helped her talk about what scared her, she opened up to him immediately, she could tell that he understood how she felt. Hank ended up giving M.A. swimming lessons at the local Rec Center. That is where he met Amy. She was working as a life guard and couldn't help but notice the great guy with lots of muscles and a warm smile, teaching a little girl to swim.

Amy went out of her way to meet and talk to Hank. They talked every day for weeks, until she finally asked him out. After realizing that he was shy, Amy decided to make the first move. And they are both glad she did. M.A. reached down and playfully tapped Amy on her head, she liked Amy as much as she liked Hank. She considered them to be her super hero aunt and uncle. Stephanie was so pleased that her niece had some great role models and she truly adored Amy. Which was a good thing, as she wasn't willing to share her angel with just any one!

Meanwhile the show on the field was almost over. They only had a few minutes, and in that time they thrilled the crowds by the almost collision and Rangers threat, which no one knew if it was for real, or part of the show. And then Stephanie brought out a huge clown size pair of hand cuffs. She chased Boomer for a bit then grabbed him, cuffed him and dragged him off of the field. The crowds roared, they were loving every second of the performance.

Moments after Boomer left the field, an ad for Vincent Plum Bail Bonding came up on the huge screen. Vinnie, Connie and Lula were shown in front of the office with big smiles on their faces, and a couple of other enhanced features. The screech that erupted from section 12 indicated that this had been an unexpected moment, and Connie was going to kill Vinnie. Lula was just smiling away, she had loved the outfit she was wearing in the ad. Oh yeah, she looked _good_! Yep, this was a big win, win night for everyone.

As luck would have it, the Trenton Thunder won their game. It was great for the team, great for the fans, and great for the news copy that would show up in the paper tomorrow morning, accompanied by the picture of the Bombshell cuffing Boomer.

Mona was there to thank all of the Rangemen as they were leaving. She had had such a great time tonight. A huge sigh of satisfaction and relief escaped audibly from her lips. The event had been more successful than she had even dared to hope. Turning, Mona stuffed her hands in her pockets. Her eyes widened as she felt the small object still in one pocket. She almost forgot that she had something for Stephanie. She swung around, chasing them down to the parking lot, Mona caught up with Stephanie and Ranger. They looked surprised and a little bit alarmed that she was running after them, yelling. But she quickly explained. Something Stanley had dumped out of her purse in the office, never made it back to her. It had rolled away, and the cops had never seen it.

Mona had caught the sparkle of something shiny that day, so many weeks ago, but she had had a hard time getting to it afterwards. It had rolled under the bookshelf next to the door. Once she retrieved it, she was more curious than ever, but by that time Stephanie had disappeared.

A group of large men were standing around Stephanie as Mona caught up with her. They were all as curious as she was to find out what was in Mona was waving around in her hand. At Mona's request, Stephanie held out her hand and Mona placed the small item in the center of her palm. She pulled her hand back and slowly opened her fingers. In the yellow glow from the parking lot lights, a smooth shiny orb shimmered, casting off the reflected light.

Stephanie gasped, "It's my grandfathers marble," she breathed out the words with the breath that she had been holding. Looking up at Mona, she had tears in her eyes. "Thank you so much."

Ranger was curious, he looked at Stephanie with a question in his eyes.

"It's Grandpa Mazur's shooter marble. He taught me how to play marbles when I was a kid," she explained. "It was the prized marble in the game that we played for keeps. It was his favorite peltier nova shooter. And I when I won it, he was so proud of me." The tears, that she had kept under control up until then, started silently rolling down her cheeks. "I've kept it ever since, it's one of the last things that I have that remind me of him," she said quietly. Ranger wrapped her in his arms and nodded to Mona.

"Thank you Mona," he said. She wordlessly nodded and smiled at him. She'd had a feeling that it was important and was glad she had been able to return it to Stephanie. Mona waved and watched the group move to their cars. She had heard part of the story, but she was sure that there was a lot more to it. She hoped that one day she Stephanie would share the rest with her. She had no idea just how soon her wish would come true.

Thanks to all of you for your comments as you have followed this story! I truly appreciate your participation, and kind words. I am working on a sequel, planning to have the first chapter ready by Friday. Hope you'll come along for the ride… Dreamer


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